Nutty Asian Noodles w/Carrots & Edamame

I was cruising through old magazines and happened upon a “Noodling Around” article in the June 2012 issue of Every Day w/Rachel Ray. The article was geared towards cooking with kids. No kids here, but I love noodles. The ingredients looked fairly simple and I already had most on hand, so I decided to be a kid and give the family friendly (their words) recipe a try. “Perk up pasta night with a yummy, nutty sauce and plenty of colorful, kid-approved veggies” by Tracey Seaman.

Nutty Asian Noodles with Carrots and Edamame – don’t mind if I do. I did make a few substitutions and they are noted in my ingredients below.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 Cups Unsalted Cashews – could also use peanuts
2 1/2 Carrots – original recipe called for 2
2 Dorat Crushed Ginger Cube – original recipe called for 1 inch piece of fresh ginger
1 Cup Vegetable Broth
3 Tablespoons Tamari/Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
2 Teaspoons Toasted Sesame Oil
2 Tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar – packed
Salt to Taste
2/3 lb. Dried Linguine – could also use 1 lb. fresh lo mein noodles
1 Cup Thawed Frozen Shelled Edamame

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spread the cashews on a baking sheet. Roast until toasted – about 8 minutes. Let cool. Measure out 1/4 cup nuts, chop and set aside for garnish.
• Peel the carrots and shred them with a grater.
• If using fresh ginger, peel the ginger and set aside.
• Bring large pot of water to a boil
• Measure the vegetable broth in a large liquid measuring cup, then pour in tamari/soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil; stir to combine.
• Blend/Process the whole toasted cashews, brown sugar, ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until finely chopped. I used my mega blender, but if using a food processor, just pulse until finely chopped. With the machine running, slowly pour in the broth mixture and process or blend until smooth.
• Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook according to package directions.
• Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse well with cold water. What? Rinse my pasta? Um… o.k.
• Transfer the noodles to a large bowl and pour the sauce over the noodles and stir. Add the edamame and carrots and stir again.
• Serve noodles in bowls and sprinkle reserved chopped nuts on top.

I ended up using 2 1/2 carrots because my carrots were pretty slender and I always like to add a little more veggies to my salads than recipes suggest.

It was cut the top off your photos day… didn’t you get the memo? I mixed up my liquids and then put my cashews, brown sugar, ginger and salt into my blender.

I used the “stir” function until I got a finely chopped texture. I then slowly added my liquid mixture and blended until smooth.

I then added the sauce to my cooked noodles, but not before rinsing. Wow, had a hard time doing that. I’ve always been told… DO NOT RINSE your pasta. I’m guessing it was because the salad was meant to be served cold. At first you might think that there is too much sauce, but trust me… you will need it. The sauce does really soak into the noodles with time.

I then added my edamame and shredded carrots and gave the noodles a good mixing with tongs.

I garnished with the chopped cashews that I had set aside. I then proceeded to take a million different photos with different bowls, chopsticks, table surfaces and placemats. I was starting to lose my light and it was a reminder that Fall is indeed here. Time to break out my umbrella lights or do most of my recipe cooking during the day on weekends. The 8 to 5 job gets in the way of my food photography, but kind of nice that it allows me to actually eat. 🙂

The noodles just got better and better with each day. I pretty much ate them for lunch and dinner for 2 days straight. It was a fun twist to a pasta dish and the nutty flavor kept me going back for more. Next time I will probably add even more veggies. Some steamed broccolini or bean sprouts might be good.

An easy dish and a good one to bring to a party… it really did hold up well. Just make sure you know your audience or make a sign that lets people know that the sauce contains nuts. Guests whipping out epi pens or going into anaphylactic shock would NOT be a good thing.