Hello heat wave.
Here in New York, we’ve got those 3 H’s in town.
Hazy, Hot and Humid.
When they’re around, the last thing I want to do is cook.
But a girl (and her boyfriend) has got to eat.
So here’s an almost-no-cook dinner to help you beat the heat.
Spicy Peanut Veggies Over Noodles.
This is my own spin on some of my favorite Thai flavors.
For some reason, summer makes me think vegetarian. Piles of vegetables and fruits in the grocery make me wonder why I would ever need meat in my diet (then I think about mom’s meatballs or a burger from The Smith and I forget about my vegetarian conversion).
This is also one of my favorite kinds of meals to prepare because it all just goes into one big bowl and then gets dished out.
You will need:
- 3 tbsp Peanut Butter
- Chili oil (or hot sauce) to taste
- 2 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- Egg Noodles
- Veggies (We’re using cabbage, broccoli, cucumber and scallions)
We’re going to start with the cook part.
Bring a pot of water to boil.
I don’t want the broccoli to be raw, so I’m going to toss the florets, chopped up into bite-size pieces, into the boiling water for a minute. Not even a minute.
While the water is coming to a boil, pull out a large bowl and combine the peanut butter, rice wine vinegar and chili oil. If the mix is a little thick, don’t fret. We’re going to toss hot egg noodles in and the heat and the water that is bound to make its way into the bowl will thin it out some.
When the water’s boiling and the peanut sauce is mixed, toss in the broccoli.
You want to have the sauce done because the broccoli is going straight from the pot into the bowl.
Just cook enough to take away the rawness. If you want, you can leave your broccoli raw. I’m just not a fan.
Scoop out the broccoli and transfer to the bowl. Pour the egg noodles into the water now vacated by the broccoli. Why waste water? Why dirty two pots?
Cook according to the directions on the package.
While they cook, add your other veggies to the bowl. I used a few handfuls of the bagged coleslaw mix with cabbage and carrots, some chopped cucumber and some sliced scallions.
Toss the veggies with the peanut sauce.
When the noodles are cooked, add to the veggies mixture.
The heat from the noodles will melt the peanut butter and will warm the veggies.
Scoop heaping spoonfuls into bowls.
Top with some chopped peanuts if you like.
The bowl goes in the dishwasher, making this a one pot to wash dinner.
Which is necessary in this heat.
Who wants to stand in an itty bitty kitchen, scrubbing a stack of pots on a lazy summer city night like this?