Cold Peanut Noodles with Crunchy Vegetables

I’ve tried at least a dozen recipes for peanut noodles over the years. I absolutely adore the combination of peanut butter, soy, ginger and chili mixed with noodles and crunchy vegetables. After many tries in my kitchen to find the perfect sauce and variety of vegetables, I think that this a keeper. It’s like a rainbow on the plate and quite pretty to look at (we do eat with our eyes first after all!).

This is a great summertime meal and tastes even better the second day once all the flavors marry overnight (you just may need to add a tiny bit of water to thin the sauce back out). Even my husband who says he doesn’t like peanut noodles is a fan of this dish.

Tip: I always found that mixing all the vegetables and noodles together just didn’t work because all of the veggies fell to the bottom of the bowl and you had to fish around to make sure you got enough. So instead of mixing everything together in one bowl, mix them separately and add the veggies to the top of everyone’s plate after you portion out the pasta.

Serves 6

Ingredients

Sauce

1/3 C peanut butter (you want something with no sugar added- I prefer organic)

1/4 C Rice vinegar

3 TBS Tamari (or low sodium soy sauce)

2 tsp Ginger, minced or grated on a microplane

1 tsp Hoisin

1 1/2 TBS sweet chili sauce

1 tsp Sesame oil

3 TBS Water

Noodle salad

8 oz Soba noodles (I like Yam soba, but you can use whatever you’d like)

1 C cabbage, thinly sliced (you can use red, green or Nappa)

3 Large carrots, cut into matchsticks

1 Large red bell pepper, thinly sliced

5 oz Edamame, cooked and cooled

1/2 C Cilantro, chopped

1/4 C scallions, thinly sliced

2 TBS Sesame seeds

Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside. Mix the cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, edamame and cilantro in a medium size bowl and set aside. Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Rinse with cold water, drain and add to a medium size bowl. Add half of the dressing to the noodles and half to the veggies. tossing each to coat. If the sauce seems too thick, you can add another TBS of water.  Portion out the noodles among six salad plates and then divide the veggie mixture over the top. Sprinkle with scallions and toasted sesame seeds.