Thursday, July 13, 2006

Sesame Lime Soba Noodles

I've played around with this new recipe for the last couple of weeks, right after my oven broke. I had intended on testing it for a while, because we really enjoy the Ginger Hoisin Rice Noodles from TEV (scroll down to see a photo and click to enlarge), and I wanted to do something along those lines, but different.

This pic is from the second adaptation of these Sesame Lime Soba Noodles, which included edamame and sui choi. I have adapted the recipe three times now, and last night we had the final version, which was excellent. (even though the oven is fixed, I was intent on nailing this recipe!)

I omitted the edamame and sui choi, and included slivered snow peas instead. The snow peas added a slight sweet crunch that balanced the shitake flavor and texture. The sauce was delicious - a little sour/salty/sweet/spicy all at once. The dish also has black sesame seeds and green onions added in (and cilantro, for those that like it!). I used Sobaya Organic Kamut Soba Noodles (pink package in link), which we all adore. They are tender and cook beautifully every time we use them.

I really wanted to include the edamame, but frankly, I don't dig them. Neither does hubby or the kids. What's the hoopla with edamame?? I also don't like them in the most popular way of briefly cooking and salting. Just not that interesting/appetizing/exciting. There aren't many foods I don't like that much, but edamame appears to join the list with raw cauliflower and cabbage.

I don't dabble a lot in Asian cuisine, so maybe one day I'll try edamame in a way that changes my mind, but for now...
Edamame - not for this 'mom-may'!

13 comments:

Danielle D. said...

Mmm...I love sesame and lime. I can't wait to try this recipe - though I would omit the mushrooms (I don't like them) and use rice noodles (to make it gluten free).

Eat Peace Please said...

Dreena, this looks awesome. I like all the flavors in one dish! As for edamame, I love it, especially the way you don't like it: for simplicity.

Have you ever had edamame hummus?

Savanna, the saturated fat is from the fractionated palm kernel oil. Palm and coconut are the only 2 veggie fats that have saturated fats. They aren't *bad* like animal saturated fats, but you should still use them sparingly.

As for the fractionated palm kernel part of it, I'd try to stay away from that and find something more natural and if it does have palm oil, it should just be plain, not fractionated. Regular palm kernel oil is from the fruit of the oil palm. It is usually only added as an emulsifier or a coating additive.

Everything else on that list sounds fine but all the fat is from the palm plant. I would say it's not healthy to have too many sat fats, but it's certainly not unhealthy compared to sooo many things, especially animal-derived sat fats. Hope this helps.

mishka said...

this looks incredible. Yeah - I'm one of those edamame lovers too. I've been meaning to try a hummus version using them for a while now. Mostly, I put them in soups and stir-fries.

Carrie™ said...

I bought that very same brand of noodles yesterday! Only I got udon.
I love the flavour of lime! And like you, I'm not into all the edamame hype. I've tried them and I liked them well enough, but I didn't get all ga-ga over them. If I bought them, it would be to include in a dish, not to eat as a snack. I do like raw cabbage and cauliflower though.
Another dish to look forward to trying out when your book is published. Can't wait!

Everyday Superhero said...

That dish looks so yummy -- lots of good greens.

urban vegan said...

this dish looks healthy, wealthy and wise. Why do I not have one of your cookbooks? Vive le Vegan is next on my list, Dreena.

Freedom said...

Oh, how can you not like raw cauliflower! So crsipy and delicious - it is wonderful for dips when you want something different from regular old carrot sticks. Each to their own though :-)
The pic looks great, by the way.

Anonymous said...

**sigh of relief** I was beginning to think that loving edamame was like a secret veg*n handshake. I don't mind edamame, but it's just not thrilling at all to me.

Your recipe, however, sounds awesome. I love soba noodles and it's great to find a good tried-and-true recipe that uses them.

Kris said...

I love edamame, but I usually just indulge when we're out, I never make it at home. Between my salt addiction and my concern over how much soy we take in, it's one less thing to think about.

The dish looks great, Dreena. I need to dabble in some more Asian cuisine as well. I love snow peas, so much easier to eat than sugar snap.

Dr. Melissa West said...

Dreena this past dish looks delicious... great for those hot summer nights. I try to avoid recipes that use the oven from June through September... it's just too hot... plus I like to try to eat for the seasons too.

raising kahne... good luck finding carob chips without palm kernal oil....but I agree with eatpeaceplease... I think you can probably find one without "fractioned" palm kernal oil, just palm kernal oil.

Dreena said...

Hi Savanna, I suspect you'll be trying edamame soon - you seem quite curious/open about food - I hope you like them! Re the carob chips, it looks like Leslie has helped me (again, thanks Les) with the nutritional info. My opinion on it is that to use carob chips in occasional treats is okay - eating them every day is another story, so try not to fret about the sat fat and fractionated palm oil. Even Sunspire brand, which is usually pretty good for wholesome ingredients, has the fract palm oil. For the sat fat, really there is so little in the vegan diet - except for in things like coconut oil, palm oil, chocolate/carob products, etc, that again I wouldn't worry about it if the bulk of your diet is very healthy and wholesome.

Ah, Danielle, another not so fond of the fungi! Well, yes they can easily be omitted, and you could also sub other veg in there or tofu/seitan/tempeh too. Rice noodles are lovely too - I enjoy them, and used them in the Ginger Hoisin Noodle recipe from TEV. They are so light and digestible - even when gluten isn't an issue, they are terrific!

Leslie, you are our personal blogging nutritional consultant - I love it!!! Thank you for all that insight, very helpful. Have you found any brands of carob chips that don't have the fract palm oil? As for the edamame, I did make a type of hummus once with it in there, it was okay, I certainly liked it better than chewing them whole. I thought I'd love them, because I love all beans, but something about the taste/texture wasn't that appealing - not even that they are simple, because I like veg with a simple seasoning of olive oil and salt, but there is a sourness almost that I wasn't expecting. But, maybe I will 'acquire' the taste!!

Thanks Mishka, oh, and btw, your book is in the mail... I got it out this week (a bit late), but you should have it next week - yay!!

Carrie, the noodles are great, hey? I think I tried the udon variety some time ago now - I really should pick them up again because I love the soba variety. They were a great option too for the baby before she was eating wheat. Yeah, edamame, it seemed so exciting - maybe that's the trouble, it got too much 'hype' - kind of like some movies that disappoint after all the attention they get!

Thanks sweet pea - I think there were TOO many greens for hubby though - ha! I liked them because they were sauteed and wilted down, which is the only way I like cruciferous greens really!

Very catchy, urban vegan 'healthy wealthy and wise'. Good health = wealth after all, right? Well, I hope you enjoy Vive when you get it - you can search for recipes that intrigue you, maybe I've posted about them with a pic. Thanks!

Freedom, I would like to like raw cauliflower, but I don't care for the taste of any raw cruciferous things really - cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, sui choi... I like them lightly cooked (not overcooked), and I think it's very much my "vata" constitution (from Ayurveda) - I am a very strong vata, and those raw veggies don't do it for me (well, I need to watch how much raw food I eat in general, while I like it, it is not very 'balancing' for me to eat so much raw - I can overdo salads and such and then not feel the best). Yes, to each his own, certainly!!

Yay, Sheryle, you're on my team!!! I'm willing to eat edamame again - but maybe have a restaurant prepare it to see if they have some magic! I didn't find it awful, but like you, just not that appealing really.

Krispycheks, that true about the over-'soy'ing things. Easier to throw in some green peas or snow peas - the ones I bought were from the farmers' market and were so fresh and sweet - mmm!

Dragonslayer, believe it or not I turned on our fireplace yesterday!!! We hadn't seen the sun since last Saturday, and up until today it has been grey and drizzly/cold (for this time of year) all week! I have been happy to have my oven back this week, believe me!

Bookphilia said...

Those are some sweet looking noodles! I can't wait for the book to come out!

Dreena said...

Thank you dreamqueen - not hard to make them, either! :)