Lots of people are cold noodle fans. It’s delicious, satisfying, and a staple in Asian take-out. What’s not to love about this classic dish is that it’s often made with rice or Chinese egg noodles doused in a sauce heavy on the sugar, MSG, and sodium. This version switches things up with noodles made from brown rice or buckwheat, both gluten-free options. In additional to the noodles, crunchy cabbage, carrots, peppers, and cucumber are tossed in for added nutritional mileage, color, and palate diversity. The sauce is a blend of peanut butter, tahini, tamari, ginger, garlic, and lots of fresh lime juice. It is lightly sweetened with a touch of maple syrup, which can easily be omitted, if you wish. Crunchy peanuts, scallions, avocado, and a scattering of gomasio finish this dish with a nice contrast of textures and flavors.
If you want to add more protein, slow roasted salmon, tamari roasted organic tofu, roasted chicken thighs, or chili and garlic scrambled egg can be delicious additions.
comforting cold noodles
Serves 4
sauce
2 tablespoons organic crunchy peanut butter or almond butter
1 tablespoon tahini
3 1/2 tablespoons reduced sodium tamari or coconut aminos
3 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sesame oil
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice + additional lime wedges for serving
1 tablespoon ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, grated
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon or more hot sauce (depending on how hot you like it!)
noodles
1 package of brown rice noodles or buckwheat soba
1/4 of a medium sized purple cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
2 large carrots, chopped, thinly sliced, or shredded using a peeler
1 medium red bell pepper, diced or thinly sliced
1/2 cup cilantro
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 avocado, thinly sliced
½ cup roasted lightly salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon gomaiso
Cook soba or brown rice noodles according to package directions and rinse with cold water to prevent from sticking. If not using right away, you can toss with a little sesame oil to loosen the noodles up.
To make the sauce, whisk together the nut butter, tahini, tamari, sesame oil, brown rice vinegar, lime juice, ginger, garlic, maple syrup, and at least 1 teaspoon of hot sauce in a large bowl. If sauce is too thick, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time in order to thin. Taste and adjust, if needed.
Transfer noodles, cabbage, carrots, and bell pepper to sauce, and toss to combine.
Transfer to serving bowls, and garnish with cucumber, scallions, cilantro, peanuts, avocado, and gomaiso.
