Veg*n Cooking and Other Random Musings: Peanut-Veggie Soba Noodles

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Peanut-Veggie Soba Noodles

As I'm sure you've all gathered, Mexican is by far our favorite cuisine. Behind that would be various forms of Asian food, particular Thai and Japanese. I'm not very sure as to the "authenticity" of our Asian food - but it's tasty and we like it, so that is really all that matters. As of late, Leng's Fried Rice has made its way nicely into our regular recipe routine - it's so tasty (and versatile, we just use what veggies we have on hand)!

This is, obviously, not Leng's Fried Rice, but it was a quick and easy creation that was filling and takes advantage of all the local yummies we have at our disposal right now. And, because I'm a bit of a spice freak, I douse my serving in sriracha before I eat it, Brett's not a huge fan of the sriracha, it's a bit spicy for his taste, so the hot chile sauce I use in this recipe is a milder variety that I supplement with sriracha to please my "fire tooth". Some have a sweet tooth, I have a spice tooth. And the great thing about Asian food is the sweet and spicy combinations often found, so it's the best of both worlds, and both Brett and I can be satisfied!

Just a reminder of the produce legend:
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden

Without further fanfare, here she be!















Peanut-Veggie Soba Noodles

Sauce:
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup water
juice of one lime
2 tbsp brown rice vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp shoyu
2-4 chiles Japones, roughly chopped (or crushed red pepper to taste)
2-3 tbsp hot chile sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1" fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced *
a pinch of salt

Veggies and Such:
1/2 package of soba noodles

shredded cabbage **
chopped rainbow chard *
carrots, sliced into thin matchsticks
yellow squash, sliced into thin matchsticks ***
zucchini, sliced into thin matchsticks ***
1/2 an onion, sliced thin *
1/2 a red bell pepper, sliced thin *

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain once cooked.

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small sauce pan. Add the chiles, ginger, and garlic and cook for about 5-8 minutes. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and combine well.

Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon or two or sesame oil over medium or medium-low heat. Add all the veggies and stir-fry until they begin to char.

Toss pasta with veggies and sauce and enjoy warm.

This was really good, we both really like soba noodles, and when we discovered that buckwheat attracts predatory insects, we were pretty excited as soba noodles are made from buckwheat.

'Til next time.

7 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Mmm, I LOVE peanut-vegetable dishes like that!!

Kale for Sale said...

Fried rice with whatever veggies are in the fridge is a staple at our house too. I can not get enough of it. Especially with an endless supply of hot peppers from the back deck to spice it with. Fortunately the cute guy at my house matches my fire tooth. Or me his.

J said...

Veggie Girl - Me too!

Kale for Sale - Isn't fried rice so great? I would have figured we would have gotten sick of it by now, but with the versatility, it's never the same twice.

We've got lots of hot peppers growing on our patio too, and I make sure to take full advantage.

Brett can tolerate a good amount of spice, I have to be honest, I am a little bit of a freak when it comes to hot things, so I am not surprised that he isn't QUITE as into it as I am. I mean, I dream of pickled habaneros on my pizza, rather than jalapenos or banana peppers. I am actually kind of thankful that he isn't a freak like me, not sure how good for you it is to eat things AS spicy as I like it as often as I would like too. ;-)

Bianca said...

Soba noodles are the best! Especially doused with peanut butter yumminess and fresh veggies.

Sometimes I wish I had a spice tooth. I like hot stuff, but not too much. Medium heat is usually enough for me, but I think hot peppers are so pretty. I'd like to use them more.

Anonymous said...

mmmmm..... i love peanut butter anything let alone a peanut butter asian themed dinner.

i think i might have some soba noodles at home too... hmmmm..

Alicia said...

I LOVE me some peanut sauce. Weird, since I don't like peanut butter... Well, and soba noodles are also one of my favorite things to eat! I will buy them today! :-)

J said...

Bianca - I love soba noodles myself and peanut butter is always good in my book.

Haha, be careful what you wish for, I wonder sometime if my spice tooth is a curse or a blessing. I've spiced people out a time or two by making my food too hot for them to eat! ;-)

Selina - Hahaha, I'm a fan of peanut butter too, and often forget about it!

This is pretty damn good, and if you like a little extra fire, definitely try the sriracha, MMMMMM.

Alice - That IS a little weird. If you make this, I hope you like it, it's a great way to take advantage of all the produce available this time of year.