Spicy Noodles with Ginger and Fresh Vegetables
These are very hot little firecrackers from the orient. They can be used to add spice to almost any oriental dish. They dry very easily and can be stored and used this way for a long time.
Ingredients:
2 carrots, peeled
1 large zucchini
3 green onions
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
4 Tbsp. matchstick-size strips fresh ginger
3 tsp. chopped garlic
1 tsp. oriental sesame oil
1-1/4 cups water
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk (light, if available)
1 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1-1/2 tsp. Thai red curry paste (look in Thai recipes for recipe to make this)
9 oz. somen noodles or rice noodles
1/2 cup finely chopped toasted peanuts
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
Instructions:
Cut the carrots, zucchini and green onions into matchstick-size strips.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over high heat and add 2 Tbsp. of ginger and 1-1/2 tsp. garlic, then saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the carrots, zucchini, half of the green onions and the sesame oil. Saute the vegetables for about 2 minutes. Add the remaining ginger and garlic, then saute until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 1 minute longer.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to a bowl.
Reduce the heat to medium and add 1-1/4 cups of water, the coconut milk, soy sauce and curry paste to the same skillet, and stir until smooth.
Simmer until the sauce hass reduced to about 1-1/4 cups, about 6 minutes. Add the sauteed vegetables and remaining onions.
Cook the somen in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain the somen and transfer to a large bowl, then add the vegetable mixture and toss to coat.
Garnish and top the mixture with the chopped nuts and mint.
Recipe by Karen C. Greenlee.