Easy Peanut Soba Noodles with Seitan from Plant Powered For Life

• Active preparation time: 16 minutes
• Total preparation time: 16 minutes

Who needs highly processed Asian noodle mixes when you can whip up this economical, family-size noodle dish in minutes? Paired with a crisp salad, such as the Spring Vegetable Salad with Green Goddess Dressing, it’s a great solution for a busy weeknight dinner or quick Saturday lunch. Pack away the leftovers in your lunch the next day—they’ll be delicious served hot or cold. 

Makes 6 servings (about 1 cup each)

3 cups (711 ml) water

One 7-ounce (198 g) package dried soba noodles

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 medium bell pepper (red, yellow, or orange), coarsely chopped

1 cup (91 g) chopped broccoli

1 medium garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, or 1 teaspoon dried

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

One 8-ounce (227 g) package plain seitan, sliced, drained

1 tablespoon unsalted creamy peanut butter

¼ cup (59 ml) reduced sodium vegetable broth (see Notes on page 000)

¼ cup (59 ml) orange juice

1½ tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped roasted peanuts

3 green onions, sliced

1. Place water in a pot over high heat, cover, and bring to a boil. Add the soba noodles, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Cook for about 5 minutes, until tender but firm. Place noodles in a strainer and rinse with water.
2. While noodles are cooking, heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bell pepper, broccoli, garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper, basil, sesame seeds, and seitan. Sauté for 6 minutes.
3. Stir in the peanut butter, broth, juice, and soy sauce and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
4. Add the cooked, drained noodles and peanuts and sauté for about 2 minutes, until noodles are heated through.
5. Sprinkle with green onions and serve immediately.

 

Variation: Substitute diced extra firm tofu (pressed for best results) for the seitan and/or rice noodles for the soba.

Per Serving: 221 calories, 11 g protein, 30 g carbohydrate, 7 g fat, .5 g saturated fat, 4 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 391 mg sodium

Star Nutrients: vitamin C (68% DV), vitamin A (22% DV), vitamin K (10% DV), calcium (10% DV), iron (13% DV), manganese (12% DV)

Recipe from Plant-Powered for Life: Eat Your Way to Lasting Health with 52 Simple Steps and 125 Delicious Recipes, ©Sharon Palmer, on sale July 8, 2014. Reprinted with permission from the publisher, The Experiment. Available wherever books are sold.