Watery fettuccini anyone?

[angelulu]

I have made Alissa's fettuccini alfredo and the pad thai over the last week and a half and I have had the same problem with both dishes. I am using a vegetable peeler to make the noodles (don't have a spiralizer yet) and when I make it and mix it in with the sauce it initially looks (at tastes) great. When I put it in a tupperware in the fridge and go back to it for either dinner or lunch the next day, it is all watery and soupy and unappetizing. I am assuming that the extra liquid is coming from the noodles when they are left to sit for an extended period of time.
Has anyone else had this problem? Does this also happen when using a spiralizer? Do you just wait to add the sauce until right before you eat it?

I am often on the go and have to prepare my meal ahead of time and carry it with me or have it ready for when I return home famished.

Any thoughts?
Thanks.

[angelulu]

I should add that in both dishes I used zuchinni for my noodles.

[mlwaug]

I've had the same problems. What I did was put the noodles on a paper towel to help soak up the water. I hope this helps.

[angelulu]

Did it help to put the noodles on paper towels right away and how long did you let it sit? Does the moisture come out immediately or over time?

Thanks for the idea. :D

[RawDietitian]

I used to have this problem too, so now whenever I make zucchini noodles, I put them in a colander and salt them to help draw the water out. Place the colander in the sink. Make sure to rub the salt around over as much of the noodles as possible. After about 15-20 minutes, they will have lost a considerable amount of water and they will be soft like pasta noodles! Put the pile of noodles on paper towels and pat them dry. If you will not be consuming the entire recipe right away, try adding your sauce to only the amount of noodles that will be eaten at that moment. Store the leftovers separately keeping the noodles and sauce in different containers. This will prevent the salt in the sauce from leaching out any additional water from the noodles which will make your sauce too watery.

Peace,
Lorena :p

[angelulu]

Thank you...that is a good idea.
I don't normally add much salt to my food.
Does this make the dish super salty?

[justinesmith]

I dont' find it to be super salty after using the salt to get the moisture out. BTW... they are just as watery if you use the spiralizer. ;)

[RawDietitian]

No, surprisingly it does not make your dish super salty. It seems that much of the salt runs right off with water that is drawn out of the zucchini. The first couple of times I did this, I was worried about the salt too so I actually rinsed the noodles and then patted them dry. Since then I have happily skipped this step with no problem! And the texture of the noodles really is much better this way.

Happy Holidays!!!
Lorena~

[angelulu]

Thanks for the solution! I can't wait to try it...