It’s fun when you can create a piece of art with your food. I’m sure you grew up being told not to play with your food, but where’s the fun in that. This recipes lets your creative spirit soar with healthy, colorful ingredients. You can be an artist when you make this Udon Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce, delicately arranging each vibrant vegetable into a yummy pallete on your plate.
This vegan (I’d like to cover a wider range of recipes and food options for readers with specific diets) Udon Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce recipe is a blast to make and doesn’t compromise flavor in any way for the sake of healthiness.
Fresh vegetables, including sweet bell pepper, snow peas, and carrots blend together with tender udon noodles. These noodles are a wonderful choice for salads since they are softer, while still being chewy, and can easily be found in the Asian section of your grocery store.
Sweet, tangy and slightly spicy peanut sauce adds a creamy coating to this fresh recipe. Roasted peanuts and fresh cilantro for garnish adds crunch and rounds out all the flavors. It’s best served cold and would be an impressive dish for potlucks.
Food Science and Cooking Tips
- To chill noodles quickly, while keeping them moist, tender and not sticking together: Drain after cooking and rinse with cool water. Then submerge in bowl of water and add ice cubes to chill water and noodles. Remove and drain before assembling salad.
- Julienne strips means thinly sliced, about 1/8 inch in diameter and usually about 1 ½ inch long.
Products used in this recipe:
Victorinox Fibrox 8-Inch Chef’s Knife
3-Piece Mixing Bowl Set, Blue/Green/Yellow
Cuisinart Chef’s Classic 12-Quart Pot
Leave a comment below and star rating if you made this recipe or want to share your thoughts.
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Udon Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
Peanut Sauce
- ¼ cup peanut butter, smooth or creamy
- 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salad Ingredients
- 10- ounces uncooked udon noodles
- 1 carrot, cut into julienne strips
- 1 medium red or yellow bell pepper, cut into julienne strips
- 2 cups snow peas, cut into julienne strips
- ½ cup dry roasted, halved peanuts
- fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Cook udon noodles according to package directions. Drain and place in ice cold water to cool (read cooking tips in section above for more detail)
- To make sauce, in medium bowl add all ingredients from peanut butter to red pepper flakes. Stir well to combine.
- In large bowl, combine cooled udon noodles and cut carrots, bell pepper and snow peas. Pour in peanut sauce and gently combine. Serve cold and garnish with peanuts and cilantro.
Recipe adapted from 2-Week Turnaround Diet Cookbook. Print.
Good morning Matt:
What a lovely, visual, delightful way to start my day. Now I can’t wait to make this delectable
Udon/vegetable salad. I appreciate your efforts to include us vegetarians and vegans in your
vast array of recipes. Your writing is a joy as well.
Cherryl
Good morning Cherryl. It’s always great to start with a colorful day. Thanks for all the compliments and hope you enjoy!