Tuesday

Discovery of the day: Peanut noodles redux

I had that modified peanut sauce left from last week and I was itching to make the peanut noodle thing work. Last night I gave it a go.

I used whole wheat angelhair pasta (big improvement!) although I overcooked them a little. I added a little chili garlic paste to the sauce, which helped a lot, then dressed the noddles. I sautéed up carrot and zucchini slices with a little garlic and nuked some asparagus pieces to the point of barely done. Threw the asparagus and leftover tofu in with the vegs to finish heating through. Noodles went in a bowl, vegs & tofu went on top with some peanuts and some extra sauce, and it was done.

We were eating about half an hour after I got home, but only because my boyfriend had put the water on to boil ahead of time and I was using leftover tofu.

Next time I may use a different peanut butter for the sauce. I used the 'grind your own' from the fancy pants grocery and I don't think it had enough oil. Or I could just add a little oil to the sauce. I also forgot to hold back some pasta water to loosen up the pasta after dressing.

I like the sautéed vegs better than the steamed vegs I've used in the past. And nuking the asparagus saved some time.

All in all, I'll mark that as a keeper. Here's my modified peanut sauce:

Peanut Sauce
(Modified from 101 Cookbooks and Fat Free Vegan Kitchen)

3/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 Tblsp agave nectar or honey
1-2 tsp Asian chili-garlic paste (or to taste)
1/4-1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)
soy sauce to taste (start with 1 or 2 tsp)
drizzle of toasted sesame oil
1/4-1/2 cup hot water

Combine all ingredients except water in a medium bowl. Whisk together, adding hot water a tablespoon or two at a time, until sauce reaches a pourable, thick, batter-like consistency. Adjust saltiness (soy sauce), heat (chili paste), and garlicky-ness to your liking.

Notes:

• Peanut butter is weird; when you whisk liquid into it, it seems to get thicker before it thins out. The amount of water you'll need will depend on your style of peanut butter.


• If your peanut butter is dry -- doesn't have a lot of oil in it -- try adding a teaspoon or two of canola, peanut, or other veg oil.


• You could use coconut milk (or lite coconut milk) instead of water.

Damn, writing up this recipe has made me hungry again.