Fresh and tangy veggie fried noodles

I have a thing for noodles eversince I’ve first tasted them. I used to eat noodles at least four times a week which is quite unusual considering that I live in the middle of central europe.

I got a new wok last week and I was super excited to try it. So I decided to do a quick stir fry today. I ended up putting in it veggies that can sound a little wierd in a stir fry, but my aim was to create a very fresh, tangy and summery dish. I succeeded.

Feel free to change the amount of veggies I put in this. I guess it’s a little too much.

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serves four, prep time: 10 minutes, cooking time: 8 minutes

Ingredients

250 g rice noodles
2 medium carrot, thinly sliced
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
100 g frozen peas
100 g frozen corn
4 cm piece ginger, cut very finely
3 garlic, cut very finely
toasted sesame seeds (optional)
cilantro and mint (opinional)
coconut oil

For the sauce:
3 tbs soy sauce (preferably low-salt)
2 tbs brown sugar or sweetener of your choice
juice of half a lime
1 tbs toasted sesame seed oil
1 small bird’s eye chili, deseeded and finely cut

Instructions

1. Prepare the rice noodles: put the dry noodles into very hot water and cover until cooked – this takes about 7 to 10 minutes. Drain and rinse.
2. Make the sauce: combine the ingredients in a tiny bowl. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. The taste should be balanced: not too sweet, not too salty and not too acidic.
3. Put a wok and a bit of coconut oil on high heat and when screaming hot, add onions, carrots ginger and garlic. Cook for a minute, then add frozen peas and corn, zucchini.
4. Cook until the veggies are browned – this takes only about 5 minutes and add cooked rice noodles and sauce. Continue to cook until just combined and the sauce starts to bubble.
5. Remove from heat and serve with toasted sesame seeds, cilantro, mint and lime wedges.

How to make a basic salad

In the hot summer heat I have huge cravings after nothing but simple salads. No need fot any special ingredients, just a few sesonal veggies from the market will do with any kind of cheese, nuts and a vinaigrette.

However, I suggest using the best ingredients you have on hand. Raw veggies taste good only if you use the freshest produce you can find. I recommend you using unsalted, toasted nuts since toasting them intesifies they flavour. You can use basicly any kind of nuts or seeds: almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts…

Do not serve salad in a deep bowl. Instead, use a regular plate. Chop your greens and after placing them on your plate, put a few drops of your vinaigrette on them. If you put the vinaigrette only on the top, the bottom of the plate will be tasteless.

You can add some more veggies: tomatoes, cucumber or peppers…

…and some olives, shaved cheese and toasted nuts.

The salad would be tasteless without a viniagrette. It is probably as versetile as a salad: you can use any kind of oil, herb or spice you want to. My favourite is the dijon mustard-honey viniagrette, but this time I sticked to the basics.

Here is an amazing poster about viniagrettes: http://lifehacker.com/make-your-own-awesome-salad-dressing-with-this-simple-c-1530646384

 

#rabbitlife