Asian Roasted Peanut Noodles with Vegetables Recipe
My son and I had lunch at a friend's house recently, and she served us some deliciously addictive peanut noodles. They were quite basic, though, only peanut sauce and Chinese wheat noodles, from a mix. I came home determined to find a way to make them with some protein and vegetables. The result was this dish!
The creamy, nutty taste of these addictive roasted peanut noodles works perfectly with the flavor of tempeh and complements the broccoli and other vegetables. The smooth texture of the noodles contrasts nicely with the crunchy vegetables. Be careful to limit yourself, or you'll end up eating the whole pot!
Asian Roasted Peanut Noodles with Vegetables Recipe
serves three
Ingredients:
- 8 oz Chinese wheat noodles (Chinese wheat starch noodles), dried or fresh
- 1/4 small sweet onion
- 2 large cloves of garlic
- peanut oil or alternative
- 1 stalk celery
- 1/3 medium carrot
- 3/4 cup broccoli flowerets
- 1/2 cup chopped tempeh
- about a 1/4 cup sliced water chestnuts, drained.
- roasted peanut sauce, to coat (store-bought or homemade--see below--with a soy sauce and peanut butter / crushed peanut base) *
- a handful of crushed roasted peanuts
* This recipe for "Perfect Peanut Sauce" looks very good and should work well with this, if want to make it from scratch or can't find a pre-made sauce in a store. Experiment with the amount; it may need to be increased.
Instructions:
1). If you wish to make your own peanut sauce, do so now (see link above for recipe).
2). Bring water to a boil in a large sauce pan. When boiling, add noodles. See package for cooking time suggestions. When they are done, drain the noodles and rinse them under cold water. Set aside.
3). Meanwhile, cut the onion into thin strips. Crush the garlic with the flat of the knife then slice it thin. Start the onion and garlic browning in a frying pan over medium heat with peanut oil or the equivalent. Wash and chop the celery into thin pieces, then wash and chop the carrot into thin strips. Wash the broccoli and cut the flowerets into small pieces. Add the carrots and celery to the pan when the onion is starting to turn translucent. After a couple of minutes, add the broccoli, stirring frequently until just cooked. Remove these vegetables from the heat and set aside. (Alternately, you can stir-fry the vegetables in a wok).
4). Chop the tempeh into thin bite-sized strips and fry on each side until brown.
5). Put the noodles back into the large saucepan, and turn the heat to medium. Add the vegetables, tempeh, and water chestnuts. Slowly add the roasted peanut sauce while stirring, until the noodles and vegetables have a light coating. Heat (and stir) until warmed through. Serve sprinkled with the crushed roasted peanuts. Enjoy!