Noodles

Soba Noodles with Miso-Scallion Dressing

December 11, 2013 by Erica

Soba Noodles with Miso-Scallion Dressing

I’m going to do that thing again where I talk about the weekend on a Wednesday! Partially because I’m in denial that we’re in the middle of the workweek. And partially because my weekend just ended – we were in Sacramento until Monday night so Nate could run the California International Marathon.

We left for the airport on Saturday morning, but before that, I had aggressive plans to cook and photograph several dishes. Hmm… can you guess how that turned out?

Soba Noodles with Miso-Scallion Dressing

Luckily, we made it to the airport on time. Not so luckily, I completely forgot the garnishes for these photos. Boo.

…

Asian Noodle Soup To Cure a Cold (Vegan)

January 9, 2013 by Erica

I guess I forgot to knock on wood last week when I said that I had a cold, but wasn’t going to stay home from work.

On Friday morning, I woke up coughing and sneezing all over everything. Gross.

I thought I was done with colds this winter, after fighting one off just before the holidays, but it turns out that was wroooong. And based on my recollection of getting sick right around the Bachelor premier 2 years ago, apparently I get sick at this time every year.

It doesn’t help that it’s been absolutely freezing in Salt Lake for the past week – highs in the teens. Who wouldn’t get sick?

So on Friday morning, instead of going into work, I cuddled up on the couch with my laptop, a box of tissues and a cup of tea.

Tea is good… but soup is better.

Luckily, I also had the ingredients to make this soup.

Soup fixes everything. So I made it and proceeded to eat it for lunch and dinner all weekend.

What is it about soup that makes me feel so much better – nature or nurture? It must be both… warm fragrant broth to warm you up from the inside out and clear the sinuses, plus the recollection of exactly the same sensation every time you’ve been sick since childhood.

Mmmmm… yep, nothing better to cheer you up when you’re sick than hot, noodley soup.

So can I recommend that you make this immediately? If it’s cold where you live, if you’re coming down the the sniffles, if your boyfriend or roommate or co-worker just sneezed… take action and cook up a big pot of (vegan!) soup. And don’t forget the sriracha… or tissues!

4.8 from 4 reviews

Asian Noodle Soup To Cure a Cold (Vegan)

Hands-on time

5 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

30 mins

This fragrant vegan soup will warm you to your toes. Recommended for times when you're sick and feeling sorry for yourself.

Author: Erica

Yields: 3-4 bowls of soup

Ingredients

1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 heaping Tbsp chopped fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 a jalapeno, seeds removed and thinly sliced
6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (preferably one without tomatoes, such as Whole Foods 365 Organic)
3 green onions plus extra for serving, sliced
3 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
3 baby bok choy, chopped
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced into very thin coins
7 oz extra-firm tofu, cubed
5 oz soba noodles
chopped cilantro, for serving
sriracha sauce, for serving

Instructions

In a large pot, heat sesame oil over medium high heat. Once hot, add ginger and garlic and saute until fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Add jalapeno, vegetable broth, and green onions. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes.
While broth is simmering, cook soba noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. (These are cooked separately to keep your nice broth from getting murky!)
Strain broth into a large bowl. (This step is optional, but I prefer to remove the solids.) Once strained, pour broth back into pot. Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, vegetables, and tofu, and simmer until veggies are heated through, 1-2 minutes. Add soba noodles and heat for 1 more minute, until both noodles and broth are hot.
Remove soup from heat and ladle into bowls. Serve alongside sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, and sriracha.
Note: This soup is best eaten immediately, as it won't reheat well once the vegetables and noodles have been added. If you're planning to have leftovers, I recommend saving half the broth just after straining and before adding anything else. For leftovers, you can assemble the bowl of soup just before reheating, which will prevent mushy veggies and noodles.

Weekend + Gingery Peanut Soba Noodles

November 12, 2012 by Erica

Good morning. How was your weekend?

Mine was SNOWY.

We got over a foot of snow here in Salt Lake, and about 4 feet up in the mountains! That means skiing next weekend for sure. Hooray!

Friday night Nate and I braved the storm to go out for dinner at Sage’s Cafe, our favorite vegan restaurant (slash only vegan restaurant we’ve tried) in Salt Lake.

We ate so much food! We split the bruschetta to start. This is my entree, the picadillo vegetariano. It was delicious and full of spices – I will definitely be recreating it at home sometime soon. Nate got a pasta ragout special that was also yummy. And then we had dessert – brownie and ice cream with peanut sauce for me, chocolate raspberry cake for Nate. We should have split a dessert… mine put me over the edge!

It snowed pretty much the rest of the weekend, so I holed up inside and cooked and baked up a storm. So much fun! And also very tiring. But it means I have plenty of food to share with you this week! Luckily I did bundle up and make it to yoga and the gym, although it was still probably not enough activity to offset all the sampling I did while cooking :)

Speaking of cooking, let’s get to the recipe part of this post.

These noodles actually weren’t part of my weekend cooking extravaganza; I made them last Thursday night. Healthy, tasty, and ready in 20 minutes flat – if that’s not a recipe for weeknight success, I don’t know what is! They are my favorite thing to whip up when I get home in the dark after work and yoga and we have no leftovers and I am HUNGRY. And the best part is that while I’m at it, I get to use up any extra vegetables that are lurking in my crisper causing guilt.

There’s really no wrong way to make this dish. I usually aim to have about equal parts noodles and vegetables. You can throw any veggies you like in here, and even better if they are ones that often appear in Asian dishes (I happened to have broccoli, carrots, a red pepper, and some frozen edamame this week). You can also add cubed tofu in for protein, which I usually do but forgot this week. Roasted peanuts and green onions on top are also yummy if you have those lying around. But what reallllly makes this dish is the sauce! I love love love peanut sauce and could eat it on pretty much anything. Thank goodness Nate feels the same way!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Gingery Peanut Soba Noodles

Hands-on time

15 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

20 mins

This perfect weeknight meal is healthy, tasty and ready in 20 minutes flat.

Author: Erica

Yields: 4

Ingredients

5 oz soba noodles
8 oz extra-firm tofu, cubed (optional)
Chopped vegetables - I used:
1 red bell pepper
2 carrots
2 crowns broccoli
1 cup frozen edamame
1 Tbsp reduced sodium tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
Sauce:
1 knob ginger, chopped or grated (about 2 Tbsp)
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp rice wine
1/3 cup reduced sodium tamari or soy sauce
1/3 cup warm water
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
chopped fresh cilantro for sprinkling

Instructions

First, prep the vegetables, ginger and optional tofu. (If I don't do this first, I tend to let the noodles cook too long.)
Next, heat water for the soba noodles. Once boiling, add noodles and remove from heat. Let soak for several minutes, until tender but not mushy. This really takes almost no time at all, so keep a close eye on them! Strain and rinse in cold water, then set aside.
Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add vegetables and saute for 2-3 minutes. Stir in tamari, sesame oil, and optional tofu and continue sauteing a few more minutes until tofu is heated through and veggies are slightly softened.
While vegetables are sauteing, mix the peanut sauce. Add all sauce ingredients (ginger through red pepper flakes) to a small bowl and (ideally) blend with an immersion blender. Whisking will also work fine - just make sure to chop the ginger as finely as possible beforehand.
To serve, divide soba noodles among individual bowls. Add vegetables and top with peanut sauce and cilantro. Enjoy with a big mug of green tea!

Notes

Peanut sauce from Eat, Live, Run http://www.eatliverun.com/peanut-soba-noodle-bowls/

Have a good start to your week!

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