Monday, July 31, 2017

Colorful Noodle Vegetable Stir-fry with Peanut Butter Sauce

Vegetables at second stage of cooking, I've just added the broccoli and cabbage.
Ready to serve and enjoy!
     One of our top favorite vegan recipes is this irresistible, richly flavored vegetable and noodle stir-fry with a peanut butter sauce. Although we are not vegan or vegetarian, we eat a healthful meatless meal about once or twice a week. It is loosely based on a recipe I found in a magazine from the library. I'm sorry I cannot credit the inspiration source; it may have been Cooking Light. However, my extensive revisions probably justify calling it our own creation. The original, which used a smaller amount of sauce made with almond butter, is milder in flavor, so I expanded the flavor with additional almond butter, soy sauce and ginger root from the first time I made it, later switching to the richer and less expensive peanut butter. Warmed gently in the microwave with a little added water if needed, leftovers are just as delicious. 

     The beauty of this recipe is that you can easily customize it for the preferences of your family, using different vegetables, more or fewer vegetables or noodles, or revising the sauce. To some extent, I did all of the above. Enjoy being creative, then enjoy a yummy treat!


Noodle Vegetable Stir-fry with Peanut Butter Sauce
4 main dish servings

Note: I begin by chopping all the vegetables, whisking the sauce together, and setting a pot of lightly salted water on to come to a boil. You can turn off the water, check the cook time for your chosen noodles, and quickly return it to a boil at the right time to have everything ready at the same time.

1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 - 2 cups carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on an angle
2 cups broccoli florets (plus some of the stalk, sliced)
about 1/2 small head purple cabbage, shredded or sliced thin
1 large onion, sliced lengthwise

2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tbsp. or more chopped fresh ginger root

1/2 - 2/3 cup chunky peanut butter
3 - 5 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. rice or cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. water (or amount to make a thick sauce)
dash of cayenne pepper or pepper flakes, if desired

8 oz. thin whole wheat spaghetti

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1. Slice and chop all vegetables, garlic, and ginger.
2. Bring pot of lightly salted water to boil, then turn off burner until needed.
3. Whisk peanut butter and water together (careful; I can get too splashy with this), then whisk in rest of sauce ingredients.
4. Heat olive (or other) oil in a very large saute pan (ours is 13") or wok, then stir-fry the vegetables, beginning with the carrots, adding the others according to the time it takes to cook them (I add the cabbage and broccoli flowerets last with the garlic and ginger root). Stir-fry just to desired degree of crispy tenderness.
5. As vegetables are cooking, cook noodles to al dente, then strain in colander.
6. Remove vegetables from heat, stir in sauce and cooked noodles, mixing well.
7. Top with slivered almonds and serve. 

It's been awhile since I've posted a recipe. Here is my index to recipes on the blog.

Question of the day: What's your favorite meatless main dish?







6 comments:

  1. This definitely sounds like a tasty dish. My favorite meatless main dish would have to be pasta with beans.

    Thank you for your kind visit to my blog!

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  2. Hi Celia! We also like pasta with beans, as well as beans and rice. I appreciate you stopping by and leaving a comment.

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  3. Hi Mary, Glad to see you blogging again. Somehow you always reminded me of my mom. I think it was mostly about creativity. Like you she had lots of it in many ways....:) As to meatless at 75 I'm still a meat and potatoes guy but reflux keep me from anything too acidy like lots of tomato dishes (pizza etc.) so now I go for meatless alfredo sauce on just about anything...:)

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  4. Mary, I had forgotten your beautiful recipes. This page looks beautiful when you open it! Too good to eat. Thanks for sharing. I am a beans and rice fan. We like New Mexico chile with ours, red or green or both, Christmas. Home cooking for sure.

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  5. Great to hear from you, TB! Thank you for the nod to my creativity; it's partially a new self-recognition in these retirement years after focusing on teaching math and philosophy (which requires logical reasoning). Most of all, I had no idea that I could do anything in the visual arts until I gave painting a try with an excellent teacher at the John C. Campbell Folk School. Alfredo sauce is yummy-good choice!

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  6. Jo, I appreciate your encouragement, as always. Thanks for your visit and kind comments. We also love rice and beans and eat several different versions as a main dish (admittedly, not always completely meatless when a bit of ham or bacon adds a nice touch).

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