Noodles and Vegetables with Sesame Dipping Sauce

Warm up on a chilly evening with a nourishing noodle dish that’s loaded with steamed vegetables. Feel free to substitute any veggies you have on hand in place of one or all that are used in this recipe. To have enough to make Fast Pho the next day, reserve half of the prepared ingredients (6 cups vegetables, 2 cups noodles, 3/4 cup cubed tofu, and 3/8 cup Sesame Dipping Sauce).

ingredient list

Serves 6

Sesame Dipping Sauce

• 1/4 cup low-sodium tamari
• 2 Tbs. lime juice
• 2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
• 2 Tbs. rice vinegar
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 Tbs. agave nectar
• 1 Tbs. hot chile sauce, such as sambal oelek
• 1 Tbs. toasted sesame oil

Noodles and Vegetables

• 4 baby bok choy, quartered lengthwise
• 4 large carrots, peeled, thinly sliced on sharp diagonal
• 8 oz. snow peas, trimmed
• 1 14-oz. pkg. firm tofu, drained, patted dry, and cut into 2- x 1/2-inch pieces
• 8 oz. thin rice noodles (rice vermicelli)
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions

1. To make Sesame Dipping Sauce: Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth. Set aside.

2. To make Noodles and Vegetables: Set steamer rack in large skillet, and add 1 cup water to bottom of skillet. Bring water to boil over high heat. Arrange bok choy on rack, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and steam bok choy 1 minute. Add carrots, snow peas, and tofu to rack, and steam 2 minutes more.

3. Meanwhile, bring large pot of water to a boil. Cook rice noodles in boiling water 3 minutes. Remove noodles from cooking water with fork or tongs (this helps prevent them from sticking together), and divide among 6 bowls. Divide vegetables and tofu among bowls, arranging around noodles. Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds. Divide Sesame Dipping Sauce among bowls (2 Tbs. per serving), and serve with noodles. Dip vegetables, tofu, and noodles into sauce while eating.