Vegan MoFo – Day Four

For today’s post, I’m returning to the land of super easy recipes.  When I make a recipe for the first time, I always make notations in the cookbook.  The first time I made this, I wrote, “Great.  Ridiculously easy.”  It is both those things.

This recipe hails from The American Vegetarian Cookbook From the Fit For Life Kitchen by Marilyn Diamond.  Thankfully, that title is more complicated than most of the recipes in the book, which typically come together quite quickly.  The recipe is called “Feeling Great Bowl o’ Noodles.”  The weather has, thankfully, cooled off for us up here, so this bowl of noodles called to me.  If it’s still hot where you are, save it for a rainy day!

BOWL O’ NOODLES

This recipe comes together in just a few minutes in a wok, so it’s really important to have everything prepped and ready to go before you start cooking.

First, get your noodles cooking.  I used brown rice spaghetti, but any noodle you want will do the trick.  Just cook them up according to package directions and then set them aside.

You’re also going to want to heat up some veggie stock.  If you’ve got some home-made stock in the freezer, bring it out.  In the interest of super speediness, feel free to use store-bought, but I recommend diluting it with water because those store-bought stocks can be pretty strong and distinctive.  That’s what I did here, using the Imagine Low-Sodium broth.

While that stuff heats and cooks, prep your veggies.  Chop up some mushrooms (I used cremini, but feel free to substitute whatever you have or prefer).

Roughly chop the greens of your choice (I think chard is particularly lovely in this recipe, but lots of greens would do the trick).

Before you turn on your wok, be sure to have your mise en place ready to go.  Here is everything you’ll need:  the cooked noodles, the aforementioned greens and mushrooms, a little pile of chopped tofu cubes, some vegetable oil, some toasted sesame oil and some soy sauce.  The broth is staying warm on the oven.  That’s it.

 

First, heat up some of the vegetable oil and a splash of the toasted sesame oil in the wok.  When it’s hot, add the mushrooms and stir-fry for about a minute.

Next, add the cooked noodles and stir-fry until heated through, about another minute.

Add the hot vegetable stock, the tofu and the chard.  Bring it to a boil (which will just take a moment) and then simmer for a couple of minutes, until the chard is gently wilted and everything is warmed through.  Stir in a bit of soy sauce and voila, you’re done!

This dish has much more depth of flavor than you’d think possible for something that takes only a few minutes to cook.  I think the toasted sesame oil can take most of the credit for that, with its rich undertone of flavor.

Enjoy!  xo