Earlier this week we showed you a recipe for some vegan peanut noodles, and today we’re continuing in that same vein with another tasty noodle recipe. This one isn’t quite as simple as the last meal we made, but it’s another delicious recipe that incorporates Asian noodle, and which you can easily make vegan. We based it on this recipe in Bon Appétit, and the result was a nice lunch packed with delicious udon noodles and lots of flavors. Since we’re just now leaving soup season, you’ll want to make this soon before it gets too hot to think about slurping noodles out of a big bowl of hot broth.
To make this, you’ll need:
- 2 large tomatoes
- Vegetable oil
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Star anise
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 14 ounces of udon noodles
- Soy sauce
- Butter or vegan butter substitute
- Scallions
- Cilantro
You’ll first want to slice 4 garlic cloves thinly, then measure 1/4 cup of oil into a Dutch oven and warm over medium heat. Add in the garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring every so often so the garlic doesn’t burn. Grate in a thumb-sized piece of ginger and grind a bunch of pepper into the pot and stir these ingredients around for a few seconds. Then slice the tops off your tomatoes and use the largest holes on a cheese grater to grate all the flesh of your tomatoes into the pot. Stir everything together and let cook for a few minutes.
Then drop in 3 pieces of star anise, your cinnamon sticks, and 5 cups of water and bring this all to a slight boil, then let the pot simmer for 10 minutes over medium-low heat.
While you’re waiting, cook the noodles according to the package directions, slice up 4 scallions, and pluck 1/2 cup of cilantro leaves. Once the broth is done simmering, take out the cinnamon and anise and stir in 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and 3 tablespoons of butter or butter substitute. When you’re ready to eat place a serving of noodles on the bottom of a bowl, ladle the broth on top, and scatter scallions and cilantro over the whole thing.
We really liked how hearty and flavorful this was: you’ve got a generous serving of thick udon noodles in a soup flavored with tomato, garlic, and two different spices, all topped with two types of greens. The ratio of noodles to soup is high enough to make you feel like this is a complete meal, and it’s fun to slurp the soup and noodles together. Plus, we learned a new technique in the form of grating tomatoes on a cheese grater. If you’re looking for an interesting noodle recipe that goes beyond your typical Italian pasta dishes, this is certainly an interesting and delicious way to get in all those good carbs with a lot of fun and tasty flavors.