They can be served hot or cold. Long or short. Sauced or nearly naked. They can be baked, boiled, and even fried. They hail from many countries, from Asia to Italy. They are a universal food. They can warm you up on a chilly night or cool you down in the heat of summer.
I just came off a 7 day work week and had not gone grocery shopping for even longer, leaving me with 1 slice of deli turkey, left over rice and beans takeout, two fried eggs, and toasted ciabatta with grape jelly to eat for dinner last night. It is not surprising that I didn't sleep well.
Finally with a day off I headed to the store for nourishment. As I wandered the aisles I felt completely uninspired. I go through periods of total uninterest in eating; I know, this must seem shocking. It is shocking to me. But when I don't have alot of time or energy I find myself living on protein shakes and take out, not the makings for a happy body.
Fortunately this summer has been quite cool by NYC standards, and though today was cool enough to wear some sleeves, the last few hot and muggy days have left me craving cool, smooth, refreshing foods. Insert the idea of cold noodles with peanut sauce here. Partly inspired by the macrobiotic (?) box of cold noodles I bought for 6 plus dollars at the store a couple weeks ago and by a previous post on Orangette of noodles with peanut citrus sauce I set out to create my own version of the cool meal I was craving.
I started with some unsalted peanut butter, a little lime juice, a splash of sesame oil, and some fiery sambal oelek as the base for my sauce. A little tweak here and a splash there and I had a creamy, nutty, tangy and spicy sauce to dress my salad. To pack in some much needed freshness and fiber I added lots of veggies, including some broccoli, red bell pepper, and carrot.For a little protein I sliced up a few chunks of seitan and tossed that in. I stirred and tasted and stirred some more, sprinkled on a chiffonade of fresh basil and was good to go. I now have enough cold noodles to last perhaps the entire coming week!
Cold Soba with Veggies and Peanut Sauce
1 pkg buckwheat soba noodles
1 small head baby bok choy, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, halved and sliced thin
4 scallions, cut in 1/4 inch pieces
2 small carrots, sliced in thin coins
1-1 1/2 c broccoli florets
3-4 pieces of seitan or other protein, sliced thin
6 basil leaves, sliced very thin
Peanut Sauce:
1/4 c. creamy natural peanut butter
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp water
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
2-3 tsp soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 tsp sambal oelek
juice of 1 lime
Bring one small pot and one medium pot of water to a boil. Salt both pots generously. In the small pot blanche the broccoli until bright green and slightly tender. Immediately place in ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain. In the medium pot cook the soba (be sure to remove the paper band around the noodles before dumping them into the water, unlike someone that rhymes with gamy) and boil until al dente. Drain and rinse with cool water. Set aside. Prepare the remaining vegetables and place in a large bowl with the drained noodles.
In a smaller bowl mix all sauce ingredients and taste for seasoning, add more water if it is too stiff. Pour sauce over salad and toss. Lastly add the chiffonade of basil. These noodles are delicious right away, but even better after the sauce has time to permeate the vegetables and the flavors meld.
Serves about 4, or 1 hungry girl for a week
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