Sunday, July 12, 2009

Thai-Style Sweet and Tangy Noodles

As you can imagine time has become a precious commodity around here with four kids to look after this summer (when does school start?). I think we have consumed far too any veggie dogs in the past few weeks so I am now turning to Asian cuisine for fast and fresh meals. Once you have all of your ingredients in place and your wok nice and hot, dinner can be cooked in a manner of minutes. This recipe is more or less from True Thai which has a wonderful vegetarian section. The original recipe calls for black-eyed peas but I had none on hand and used chickpeas.

INGREDIENTS
- 8 oz rice noodles (I used rice vermicelli)
- 2 tbsp oil
- 6 large garlic cloves
- 1/3 cup vegetable stock
- 6 green onions, angle cut into 1" pieces
- 1 large tomato, halved, and cut into thin wedges
- 1/2 block extra firm tofu
- 3/4 cup cooked beans (I used chickpeas)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp mushroom soy sauce
- 1 tsp white pepper
- generous tbsp white vinegar
- 1/2 lb bean sprouts
- cilantro to garnish

METHOD
1. Prepare noodles according to directions on the box (usually you soak in hot water for about 10 mins), then rinse in cold water and set aside.
2. Heat wok over medium-hi heat. When hot, add oil and rotate to coat the wok.
3. Add garlic and fry quickly, until aromatic. Add noodles and fry for 1 min. Add stock and mix well. Add green onions, tomatoes, tofu and beans and stir fry for 1 min.
4. Add sugar and soy sauce and fry 1 min. Add pepper, vinegar, and bean sprouts and mix well. Garnish with cilantro and serve.