Gluten-free & Vegan Drunken Noodles

by Dishing Well with Elizabeth Tigani on April 25, 2012

(image via www.Newyork.Seriouseats.com)

On Monday I was contemplating how to spice up our weekly pasta night and decided to ditch the tomato sauce and go for some Asian flare (I know, I like to live on the edge). I came across a great recipe for drunken noodles in a cookbook I recently purchased by a Natural Gourmet alum and vegan chef, Chloe Coscarelli. and decided to try swapping out ramen for quinoa spaghetti. I wasn’t exactly sure if this would translate but the result was so good. Srsly. I’d even venture to say that it was one of the best soup noodles I’ve ever had, even after visiting China.

I made a few other changes to the recipe – doubling the rice vinegar and adding bok choy, sriracha and wakame  (which worked out perfectly, I like to sneak in some sea vegetables whenever I can because I often find their taste a bit much for my palate when eaten alone – the spicy broth conceals any fishy taste).  If you aren’t familiar with sea vegetables and can find some ways to fit them into your diet, it’s worth it – here are some of their amazing benefits.

Recipe

Serves: 4 (or 2 if you’re hungry!)

Ingredients:
8 ounces quinoa spaghetti (I used Ancient Harvest)
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ pound Shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
3 scallions, ends trimmed and thinkly sliced
2 tablespoons wakame
2 small bunches of bok choy; separate leaves from stems
4 cloves garlic; minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger; grated
¼ jalapeno pepper; chopped (and seeded for less heat)
pinch ground cayenne pepper
5 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 tablespoons rice vinegar (I used even more but tend to like more acid than most!)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
pinch sea salt
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro; roughly chopped
sriracha sauce, 2 teaspoons (I added way more but again, I like it hot!)

Preparation:

1. Cook quinoa noodles until al dente (about 6-7 minutes); drain and set aside. Meanwhile, soak wakame in a small bowl of luke warm water and set aside. 

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and scallions; cook for 5 minutes or until mushrooms are soft. Mix in garlic, ginger, jalapeno, and cayenne pepper and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Add broth to the mushroom mixture and bring to a boil. Add noodles, wakame, and bok choy stems and reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 5 minutes. Add bok choy leaves, stir, and cover for another 2-3 minutes (until leaves are wilted). Turn off heat and stir in vinegar, sesame oil, and sriracha sauce. Season to taste with salt. Ladle into four bowls and garnish each with 1 tablespoon of cilantro; serve.


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