Easy Spicy Vegetarian

Have you ever had soba noodles? Made from buckwheat, these gluten-free noodles are a nice break from regular pasta. I spotted them in the grocery store and decided to pick them up after recently reading that some studies have shown buckwheat to lower both glucose levels and cholesterol, in addition to containing protein and magnesium. I like a pasta that packs a nutritional punch!

Soba noodles are the perfect base for a stir fry, and staying with my healthy vegetarian theme of the week, I made a really delicious meal with them last night.

It started with half a box of Annie Chun soba noodles, which I cooked according to the package instructions. Basically, boil them.

In a pan on the side, I steamed up a mountain of broccoli and carrots in a little bit of water. I like my veggies to have a bite to them, so I didn’t cook these for very long. There’s nothing worse than mushy veg!

I wasn’t really sure where I was going with the sauce, so I just started pulling random ingredients I thought would go well together: sriracha, naturally, tamari soy sauce, red curry paste, and coconut manna which is a blend of coconut oil and butter and is incredibly yummy, right out of the jar!

I also grabbed my trusty tube of cilantro. I love buying fresh herbs, but they tend to wilt and wither quickly. These gourmet garden herb tubes keep the herb flavors fresh and bold for quite awhile, and a few squeezes of this cilantro REALLY brightened my noodles.

I also grabbed some sesame seeds for a little bit of crunch.

To put it all together, I drained the noodles and placed them atop the vegetables. Then I added a few dashes of tamari, about two tablespoons of sriracha, a few squeezes of cilantro, a couple scoops of coconut butter, and a pinch of curry paste. Stir it up, and serve!

We were instantly fans of this dish. My husband just kept saying how good it was, and I actually finished an entire bowl. There were so many flavors going on, but they all worked together very well. I love Asian-inspired flavors most of all, and I will definitely be trying this combination again with other ingredients.  Not too shabby for something thrown together!

I adore cilantro, coconut, spicy chilis, lemongrass, etc. What are your favorite flavors, things you can’t get enough of?