Stir Fried Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce and Asian Greens
Mustard greens, spinach, arugula, collards, black kale, Swiss chard, bok choi and pak choi all find a place in my garden because they are so easy to grow from seed and they make a quick, healthy addition to all sorts of meals.
Pak Choi from Our Garden
The recent heat wave that struck Seattle inspired a stir fry kick at our house as we hustled to harvest our cool season greens before they sent up flower stalks. We’ve been tossing big bunches of greens into our wok, dressing them with peanut sauce and serving the fast, flavorful concoction over rice or with noodles.
Fresh Picked Spinach
Stir Fried Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce and Asian Greens
Our friends Alison and Matt served Jon crispy tofu, spinach, and rice smothered with peanut sauce a few weeks ago and he’s been raving about that meal ever since. I made up this recipe to help satisfy his stir fry craving and to use up our bumper crop of greens. It’s super simple and should really be in every vegetable gardener’s repertoire because it takes less than half an hour to prepare and you can add an endless combination of fresh vegetables to the stir fry, including carrots, peas, asparagus, summer and winter squash.
You’ll need:
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon cilantro, minced
1 tablespoon chives, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons light coconut milk
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon chili oil
Sriracha hot sauce to taste
Big pinch of sea salt
1 8-ounce package of wide rice noodles
1 package extra firm tofu, cut into ½ inch cubes
2 tablespoons peanut oil
6 cups mixed greens, well washed and roughly chopped (I used mustard, spinach, and pak choi)
¼ cup dry roasted, unsalted peanuts
To make the peanut sauce, whisk together the peanut butter, cilantro, chives, garlic, coconut milk, rice vinegar, chili oil, and salt. Stir in a couple tablespoons of water to help loosen up the sauce. Then, give it a taste and add a little Sriracha if you want to amp up the heat.
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to their package’s directions. When cooked, drain the noodles, run them under cool water, and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat the peanut oil in a wok or large skillet over medium high. Add the tofu and cook until it is golden on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove the tofu from the pan with a slotted spoon and set it on a plate lined with paper towels. Add the greens to the pan with about a tablespoon of water (you may need to cook the greens in batches). Cook until they just begin to wilt. Then, toss the noodles, tofu, peanuts, and peanut sauce into the pan of greens and cook until everything is heated through (1 to 2 more minutes). Serve immediately.
Peanut Sauce Ingredients
Willi, this sounds sooo good! And that pak choi picture is beautiful-might have to do some of that at some point. Picked up a packet of ‘ruby streaks’ the other day. Thank you for all of the wonderful ideas!
June 10th, 2009 at 3:25 pmYum! This is going to be another way to go through out greens-galore! Plus, we have a huge crop of snow peas rolling in and cilantro, chives and garlic scapes, so it’ll be extra tasty — maybe tomorrow night!
FYI: If you’re extra lazy or just don’t like to do a lot of frying, you can buy pre-fried tofu at Central Market in Shoreline (and many other Asian markets.
June 10th, 2009 at 4:41 pmOh lord, does that look good. I’m not waiting for my ever so slow growing spinach–going to the store for this one. Thanks Willi!
June 11th, 2009 at 6:29 amYum! I harvested my first butter lettuce yesterday! The 2nd veggie harvested!
June 11th, 2009 at 7:44 amwe have so many turnip greens right now we are looking for all kinds of ideas. thanks!!
June 11th, 2009 at 1:03 pmEmily–Glad you are trying out Ruby Streaks! It’s so good!
Garden Mentor–Thanks for the tip on pre-fried tofu. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for it.
Suzanne–I’m jealous that you still have spinach in the garden still, even if it’s growing slowly. All of mine has gone to seed.
Powered by tofu–Yay for butter lettuce. It is so much better straight from the garden.
Madeline–I bet turnip greens would be super tasty in this recipe!
June 11th, 2009 at 5:07 pmI´ve just discovered your lovely blog… What a lucky day! I’m from Portugal, it’s our national day and I really needed some help with my greens. Thank you for the tips and beautiful images. I’ll be a visit now. Congratulations!
June 12th, 2009 at 6:50 amI’ve been looking through your archives, and you’ve definitely raised my interest in growing greens. Of course, it also helps that my kids are now old enough to enjoy them as well! I was thrilled to thin out my tiny lettuce patch for the first time yesterday and bring in some little pieces of lettuce for my girls to nibble on. They were so excited!
June 12th, 2009 at 4:05 pmWilli, could I still plant spinach and arugula in my garden? I live in the country outside Seattle near Bremerton. First time with veggie garden….I have harvested some FANTASTIC radishes that pack some heat! Awesome! Thanks for you blog. Helps me a lot! Jenn
June 12th, 2009 at 6:30 pmI need help with growing greens. I love them but can not seem to grow them very well. Last year they bolted and this year I have leaf minor bugs. Do they do better in containers?
June 14th, 2009 at 1:47 pmI just finally found time to read your entire blog and I love it! thanks! Look forward to seeing how your garden grows this year – oh and I made your lemon thyme vinagrette the other night – a new favorite – cant wait to try some of your other recipes. I lived in seattle about 4 years ago for about five years and loved it there – I never quite figured out gardening beyond a herb garden there though (Im from MN where summers are so different for gardening) but its so awesome to see how much you really can grow there!
June 15th, 2009 at 11:06 amGreat recipe–I used spinach, red chard, and bok choi this time. Doubled the yummy peanut sauce to dip raw veggies in. Thanks, Willi!
June 16th, 2009 at 12:22 pmThe peanut sauce recipe looks great. Reminds me of the stir-fry I made this week: Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry with Peanuts – http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/spicy-chicken-stir-fry-with-peanuts?autonomy_kw=snap%20peas&rsc=header_8. Thanks, Martha!
It’s to early for snow peas and serrano peppers from my garden, so I picked some up at the farmer’s market. I did get to use my basil though!! It’s so fun to find a recipe that uses your newest harvest.
June 17th, 2009 at 7:00 am