Sunday, July 20, 2008

Day 20: Two Great Tastes That Go Great Together

Today I'm going to share a recipe that goes really well with the cucumber salad I described in Day 10. I've been making it for years, and it's great for parties because a) it makes a lot b) it can be served room temperature and c) everyone loves peanut butter! This recipe is on the sweet side--not spicy at all. Kids love it!

Udon Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Vegetables

6 Tbsp. water
1/4 cup reduced-fat creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. fresh ginger (available bottled at Trader Joes)
1 1/2 tsp. dark sesame oil
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz. udon noodles (Japanese wheat noodles, available in most supermarkets now)
2 cups snow peas, halved crosswise
1 cup shredded carrot

1. Combine first nine ingredients in saucepan; stir with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil; cook one minute, stirring constantly. Set aside.

2. Cook noodles in boiling water according to package directions. Drain well.

3. Combine noodles, vegetables and sauce in large bowl, and toss well to coat.

This is a dish I like to serve when I have a lot of vegans coming over. Yes, I know a lot of vegans. They are almost like regular people; you'd be amazed. I try to convince myself that they're getting some protein from the peanut butter and it's okay that I'm not making something with tofu, which a) I don't know how to do and b) I despise. But you don't have to be a vegan to enjoy this dish, which has an addictive quality. It's easy to double, and the bowl is always empty at the end of the night. You can also make it go further by adding more veggies. There's always plenty of sauce.

4 comments:

suebdo said...

Mmmmm, sounds yummy! Yummier than the Devil Dog I just ate after 6 hours running around a water park. Devil dogs always trick you into thinking they will be yummier than they are -- just like Starbucks baked goods -- simply awful, cold, gross & awful. Though, I had a little addiction to the white peppermint glaze they put on these "snowcap" donuts this winter. The glaze looked like snow with crystaline sugar on-top. It reeled me in, though I knew better. I bought three over the course of the season, carefully picking off and devouring the glaze and chucking the rancid chocolate donut in the bin. No use chasing good calories with bad!

Samantha said...

@Sue: Cracking up here! And you should know that anything with both frosting AND sugar/sprinkles is the hardest for me to resist, no matter where it is. It could be lying in a dumpster in an alley and I'd still have to avert my eyes quickly and walk fast. ;)

Caroline said...

Oh, I missed the snowdrop donuts. I would have been reeled in, too.

I share Samantha's love of iced things with sugar/sprinkles. I just got done eating my best-ever, sinful-tasting, low-points chocolate cake topped with whipped cream and peppermint sugar (a recipe I found online -- grind some fresh peppermint with sugar in a food processor for sprinkling pleasure). Mmm. (Don't know if whipped cream appeals to Sam like icing does, however.)

I still remember going into raptures over pink-iced Lofthouse sugar cookies with Samantha one year. :)

The Wades said...

what's a vegan?