Using your noodle...

Looks like another night of Iron Chef cooking at our house. The secret ingredient...shrimp! I found some broccoli in the fridge and dried organic udon noodles in the cupboard. The udon sealed the deal. It was going to be some sort of Asian noodle dish. I immediately thought of a peanut sauce and knew I had all the ingredients I needed down to the green onions. It's such a yummy dish. Sweet, salty, creamy and crunchy. The peanut noodles are the blank canvas.You can add whatever else you have lying around. Grilled chicken would be great, along with any veggie you enjoy. You could even make it entirely vegetarian. The portions I have listed would make two main courses or four side dishes. Double the recipe if you need more. Enjoy!

 

Asian Peanut Noodles

• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
• 1 tbsp brown sugar, packed tight
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp fresh crushed ginger
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• Asian chili sauce (optional) 
• 2 stalks of green onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 pound of noodles (udon, soba, spaghetti) 
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• veggies (ex.broccoli, red bell pepper, snap peas, etc.) and cooked meat/seafood (ex. shrimp, chicken, tofu, etc.) of your choice (optional)

Start heating up a large pot of water. Cut up your veggies and cooked meat/seafood (optional) into bite size pieces. Slice your green onions. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the first seven (or eight) ingredients. You want the peanut butter to be completely blended into the rest of the sauce.
When the water starts to boil, add your noodles and cook according to package directions for al dente. Drain and let cool for a couple minutes.

Transfer the noodles to a large bowl and add half of the peanut sauce. Use tongs to gently mix in the sauce to evenly coat the noodles. Keep adding sauce gradually until it is at the consistency you desire.

Add the sesame seeds, veggies and meats. Toss gently to combine.

Serve warm or cold.