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Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles Recipe

July 22, 2016 by Jeanette 31 Comments

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Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles - this is a low carb version of a popular Chinese noodle dish. Delicious and very satisfying! ~ https://jeanetteshealthyliving.com

Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles are a great low carb option for a delicious dinner.

Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles - this is a low carb version of a popular Chinese noodle dish. Delicious and very satisfying! ~ https://jeanetteshealthyliving.com

There’s a local restaurant that has a few zucchini noodle options on their summer menu. One was served with ground turkey and tomato sauce. It was light with just a little bit of tomato, and surprisingly, served room temperature, almost cool.

I had expected either a cold zucchini salad with turkey breast pieces, or a hot version. So, when my zucchini noodles arrived with a light ground turkey sauce served at room temperature, I was surprised. It actually tasted really nice.

Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles is my version of a favorite dish my dad makes called Za Jiang Mian. Za Jiang Mian is typically made with Chinese bean sauce and hoisin sauce, but I used soy sauce and five spice powder in this recipe to mimic the flavors.

Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles - this is a low carb version of a popular Chinese noodle dish. Delicious and very satisfying! ~ https://jeanetteshealthyliving.com

Making Zucchini Noodles with a Spiralizer

Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles - this is a low carb version of a popular Chinese noodle dish. Delicious and very satisfying! ~ https://jeanetteshealthyliving.com

I finally broke down and bought a spiralizer earlier this Spring and have been using it mostly to make zucchini noodles for my husband and me. We’ve been trying to cut back on pasta so zucchini noodles have been an easy way to enjoy meals with the kids when they’re having pasta.

Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles - this is a low carb version of a popular Chinese noodle dish. Delicious and very satisfying! ~ https://jeanetteshealthyliving.com

My spiralizer is made by Paderno and has four blades. It’s fairly sturdy and comes apart pretty easily.

Stir Frying Zucchini Noodles

I usually drop the zucchini noodles into a pot of boiling water and cook them for a few minutes to slightly cook them, but they often come out really watery. So, this time, I just tossed the zucchini noodles into the sauce and tossed them around until they were slightly cooked. They kept their shape much better and weren’t watery at all.

Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles - this is a low carb version of a popular Chinese noodle dish. Delicious and very satisfying! ~ https://jeanetteshealthyliving.com

I made these Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles for this month’s Recipe Redux Challenge, “Get Your Fruits and Veggies in Shape. With produce galore, now’s a great time to enjoy lots of fruits and vegetables. Show us how you’re serving the bounty of gardens and orchards in shapes like ribbons, noodles, cut-outs, or other creative cuts.”

Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles - this is a low carb version of a popular Chinese noodle dish. Delicious and very satisfying! ~ https://jeanetteshealthyliving.com

Give these Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles a try and let me know what you think.

Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles - this is a low carb version of a popular Chinese noodle dish. Delicious and very satisfying! ~ https://jeanetteshealthyliving.com

Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles - this is a low carb version of a popular Chinese noodle dish. Delicious and very satisfying!
3.67 from 3 votes
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Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles

If you have a spiralizer, you can make your own zucchini noodles. You can also find zucchini noodles at some supermarkets in the produce section.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 272 kcal
Author Jeanette

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon grape seed oil
  • 1 pound ground turkey 93% lean
  • 2-3 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons organic sugar
  • 1 teaspoon five spice powder
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 8 cups zucchini noodles ~ 3-4 zucchini, depending on the size

Optional Add-Ins

  • 2 teaspoons ginger minced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper chili flakes

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a large pan or wok. If desired, add ginger, garlic, and/or red pepper chili flakes. Saute turkey until brown; drain any liquid off. Add soy sauce, sugar, five-spice powder, sesame oil and water. Toss to coat meat well and cook for a few minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add zucchini noodles and toss to coat; cook for several minutes until done to your preference.

Recipe Notes

I like my zucchini noodles just barely cooked; otherwise they get soggy. If you let the hot zucchini noodles and sauce sit for a few minutes, the noodles will soften a little more. This is delicious eaten room temperature too. If you like spicy food, serve with Chinese hot bean sauce or add some red pepper flakes during the cooking process.

Nutrition Facts
Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles
Amount Per Serving
Calories 272 Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value*
Fat 9g14%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 62mg21%
Sodium 599mg26%
Potassium 1603mg46%
Carbohydrates 17g6%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 13g14%
Protein 33g66%
Vitamin A 975IU20%
Vitamin C 84.9mg103%
Calcium 86mg9%
Iron 3.2mg18%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Filed Under: Asian, Clean Eating, dairy-free, Dinner, gluten-free, low carb, main courses, New Year Tagged With: Chinese noodles, ja jian mein, low carb, za jiang mian, zoodles, zucchini noodles

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Comments

  1. Angie@Angie's Recipes says

    July 22, 2016 at 9:55 am

    Low carb, low calorie, but loaded with flavour and goodness. I love it!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      July 22, 2016 at 12:14 pm

      Yes Angie! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Serena says

    July 22, 2016 at 11:02 am

    These are the MOST beautiful zoodles I’ve seen – seriously, they are so uniform with pretty spirals. I love that the restaurant is offering zoodles! Totally making this simple dish…my kids like the sweetness of 5 spice powder. Pinning…

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      July 22, 2016 at 12:15 pm

      Thank you Serena! It’s awesome that restaurants are starting to offer zucchini noodles – great low carb option. Hope you and your family enjoy this!

      Reply
  3. Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen says

    July 22, 2016 at 12:58 pm

    I have recently needed to begin following a low FODMAP diet, and that has also meant eating more meat than I was used to…this is all perfectly timed as it is FODMAP friendly, sounds DELICIOUS (!!), and I just found a humanely raised ground turkey that I’ve been hoping to use more of in the kitchen. 🙂

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      July 22, 2016 at 9:15 pm

      So glad this recipe sounds like it will fit with the low FODMAP diet you’re on. I hope you enjoy this!

      Reply
  4. EA Stewart says

    July 22, 2016 at 2:44 pm

    How did you know I was craving Chinese food?!! Yum! I love how easy this recipe is too-can’t wait to make it!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      July 22, 2016 at 9:15 pm

      Thanks EA – I hope you have a chance to try these zoodles!

      Reply
  5. Sonali- The Foodie Physician says

    July 22, 2016 at 4:23 pm

    Wow Jeanette, this dish looks amazing! The flavor on these zoodles looks awesomely intense!!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      July 22, 2016 at 9:16 pm

      Thanks Sonali – this zoodles definitely have some deep flavors to them!

      Reply
  6. Liz @ The Lemon Bowl says

    July 24, 2016 at 11:17 am

    Making this for dinner this week!! So excited to try it!

    Reply
  7. Rebecca says

    August 22, 2016 at 5:49 pm

    The flavor seemed a bit mild (or more mild than I was expecting). Not sure where I went wrong.

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      August 25, 2016 at 11:23 am

      Soy sauces have different depths of flavor and amounts of sodium depending on the brand. If you like stronger flavors, you can add a little more five spice powder. I like to eat mine with Chinese hot bean sauce for spiciness.

      Reply
  8. Joni says

    December 31, 2016 at 2:13 am

    Can you use something else instead of grape seed oil? Coconut oil?
    Are these whole 30 approved?

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      December 31, 2016 at 11:03 am

      You could use coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil.

      Reply
  9. Maria says

    January 4, 2017 at 6:29 pm

    I found this recipe to be bland, I added extra five spice and also added minced garlic & onion as I browned the ground turkey 😛Definitely enhanced the flavor.

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      January 4, 2017 at 6:39 pm

      Maria – garlic, ginger and/or onion would definitely be nice additions – even some hot red pepper flakes or chili sauce.

      Reply
  10. Donna @ MyTastyJourney.com says

    April 3, 2017 at 6:09 pm

    I just made this and it was delicious! THanks Jeanette! Who doesn’t love a 1step, 5 minute healthy meal??

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      April 4, 2017 at 3:54 pm

      Donna – so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for letting me know :).

      Reply
  11. Misty says

    May 7, 2017 at 10:08 pm

    Just discovered this recipe. Do you drain the turkey before adding the soy sauce, etc.?

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      May 7, 2017 at 10:37 pm

      Hi Misty, yes, I would drain the turkey juices off before adding the other ingredients.

      Reply
  12. Diane says

    May 20, 2017 at 7:24 pm

    Made this tonight and I loved it !! Made as is and it was perfect !! Thank you, this will become a go-to recipe !

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      May 24, 2017 at 6:22 am

      Hi Diane – so glad you enjoyed this recipe – thanks so much for letting me know!

      Reply
  13. Lacy says

    August 28, 2017 at 2:06 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious!! Made this for lunch today & it was so full of flavor. I used siracha oil instead of grapeseed & added red pepper flakes to kick up the heat. Will be making this again!! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      August 28, 2017 at 8:56 pm

      Thanks Lacy – so glad you enjoyed this recipe! I love the substitution of siracha oil and red pepper flakes for some spiciness. I usually serve it with hot chili bean paste on the side, but I’ll have to try your modification next time!

      Reply
  14. Kayla says

    September 30, 2017 at 12:33 pm

    I don’t have any Chinese five spice blend in my pantry. What would you recommend as a simple sub?

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      September 30, 2017 at 1:03 pm

      Chinese five spice blend contains cinnamon, star anise, fennel, szechuan peppercorns and cloves, so you can either leave it out of the recipe completely, or add a few shakes of ground cinnamon, ground fennel, and black pepper (whole szechuan peppercorns can be found in Asian grocery stores, but if you don’t have them, more black pepper will add a little extra heat). If you have star anise, you can grind and add a little.

      Reply
  15. Cyndi says

    October 23, 2017 at 11:05 pm

    1 star
    I feel bad commenting with a negative review but I don’t want people to end up wasting ground turkey like I did! I’d been wanting to make this recipe for a while and finally committed to finding Chinese 5 Spice powder in the store. I should have looked at what the actual spices are, for those who don’t know, one of the main ingredients is cinnamon. Cinnamon and ground turkey just do not go together! My husband, who usually eats everything, couldn’t get past the cinnamon flavor either and we ended up tossing ours. Next time I will do more research on my spices!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      October 25, 2017 at 7:17 pm

      Hi Cyndi, thanks for your honest review. You are correct – Chinese 5 spice powder does have cinnamon, so if you aren’t used to that flavor in savory dishes, you probably won’t like anything made with Chinese 5 spice powder. Personally, I love Chinese 5 spice powder and don’t find the cinnamon too strong – more anise flavor, but it is definitely a personal taste. You can certainly leave it out and just use soy sauce and sesame oil to flavor the meat.

      Reply
  16. Claudia says

    November 6, 2017 at 8:30 pm

    5 stars
    Made this for dinner tonight and added jalapeños to the turkey. So so good and flavorful! The sesame oil really makes a difference and I’m excited to put add it to more recipes.

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      November 7, 2017 at 11:21 pm

      Hi Claudia – so glad you enjoyed this tonight – I love your addition of jalapeños for some fresh spicy flavor!

      Reply

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Hi! I'm Jeanette - welcome! Step into my kitchen, where you'll find healthy dishes packed with flavor and goodness.

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