Sesame Spaghetti Squash recipe

Back in the day, my mom travelled occasionally for business. She was in sales – an occupation perfectly suited to her warm, engaging smile and curiously out-going personality. I fondly remember the treasures she brought home for me… She loved finding pretty things from new and different places. I credit her for instilling in me a fabulously incurable sense of wanderlust and an appreciation for “pretty” that I will carry with me all my days.

Although I’m sure they weren’t originally intended for me, a particular pair of black lacquer chopsticks with mother of pearl inlay were among my favorite treasures. Not even knowing what they were, I fell in love with them the minute I saw them and can still remember daydreaming about the wonderfully “exotic” place that they came from: San Francisco’s China Town.

They clearly made an impression as they’ve lived in my memories all these years. I asked my mom if I could borrow them a while ago, and she very quickly obliged, telling me to keep them because she always knows who to call if she ever needs to borrow them back. {Love…}

Over the years, these chopsticks – and another similar pair that came back with my mom from China Town some years ago – have remained some of my favorite childhood “jewels”. The fact that they’re embellishing some of my favorite dishes and tablescapes today only adds to my appreciation of them.

In the spirit of true disclosure, embellishing is usually their only purpose. As hard as we’ve tried, it’s fairly difficult to eat anything (much less slippery spaghetti squash noodles) with lacquered chop sticks. And for the record, these chopsticks almost insist upon crossing each other – regardless of largely held beliefs about crossed chopsticks. No offense intended here. We just focus on the positive.

And the delicious dish at hand.

I hope you love the delicate Asian flavors of this veggie dish as much as we do! We’ve made it several times with some of the variations included, but found that certain things make it absolutely perfect: The toasted sesame oil and seasoned rice vinegar are key ingredients. (If you want to lower the sodium and sugars in this dish, use unseasoned rice vinegar.) And, unless your palate simply doesn’t do cilantro (in which case, use parsley – or even basil), you’ll find that the cilantro adds the most wonderfully bright notes to each bite.

This is perfect as a light meal or a shared dish for a pot luck, and tastes great both at room temp or right out of the refrigerator. It also makes a great accent dish for garlicy grilled or broiled chicken, turkey or pork.

Enjoy!

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Sesame Spaghetti Squash recipe

This is perfect as a light meal or a shared dish for a pot luck, and tastes great both at room temp or right out of the refrigerator. It also makes a great accent dish for garlicy grilled or broiled chicken, turkey or pork.

Servings 4 - 6

Author Michele Phillips, BaconFatte.com

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized spaghetti squash - about 5 cups - baked and shredded
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce or Tamari
• 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar*
• ½ - 1 teaspoon fresh ginger minced (or ¼ teaspoon ground ginger)
• 1 teaspoon fresh garlic finely chopped (or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder)
• ½ - 1 teaspoon Sriracha optional, to taste
• 2 tablespoons black and/or white sesame seeds toasted
• 1/4 cup scallions about 4, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup frozen edamame thawed (or 1 cup fresh sugar snap peas or snow pea pods)
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped + more for garnish (or parsley, if you prefer)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Wash and dry the outside of your squash. Carefully cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
3. Line a sheet pan or baking dish with parchment. Lay both halves of your squash - cut side down - in the pan/dish.
4. Bake for 30 – 45 minutes or until tender. Test doneness by inserting a paring knife tip through the top, rounded part of each squash half. The knife tip should slide right through the squash skin when done.
5. Remove squash from the oven and allow it to cool (leaving it cut side down), for about 15 minutes or until you can comfortably handle it. Scrape the cooked spaghetti squash strings out of the skins with a fork, and place into a large bowl.
6. For the Sesame Sauce: Whisk together the sesame oil, soy sauce or tamari, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, and Sriracha (if using).
7. Add the sauce and roughly half of the edamame (or peas or pea pods), green onions, and sesame seeds to the spaghetti squash, and toss gently to combine. Reserve the other half of these ingredients for garnish.
8. To serve, garnish with reserved edamame (etc.), and green onions, and sesame seeds for a nice presentation. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Recipe Notes

*If you want to lower the sodium and sugars in this dish, use unseasoned rice vinegar. The flavor is milder, but definitely not missing.
*Recipe adapted from Family Fresh Cooking

Sesame Spaghetti Squash

I would LOVE to know what you think of this recipe when you try it!

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