recreating portland noodles

as you may or may not know, while i was in portland, lexy and i returned on two occasions to a magical restaurant called Blossoming Lotus.  for all of you living (or visiting) in portland, you must go here asap and order the thai peanut noodles with soy curls.  it will change your life.

in fact, it changed my life so much that i came home determined to make some of my own-- and i did!  while it is not totally fat free (or even close to it) i am justifying it by saying that it is made mostly healthy and natural ingredients...  so, i think this is a health food.  regardless, it is amazing.

here is what you need:

-butler soy curls (these are a magical find that lexy made... it is most likely that they are not available in your area, and if you are not going to order them online, i suggest either leaving it out of the recipe or using tofu or chicken instead)

-some random veggies... i used french green beans, lots of broccoli, asparagus, and carrots... nex time i will probably add red peppers

-high fiber spaghetti noodles

(for the sauce)

-2 T soy sauce

-1/3 cup natural pb (i used creamy)

-1 T maple syrup

- 3 T fresh lime juice

-around 1ish t of chili paste (in asian cooking section)

-1 clove minced garlic

-1 T sesame seeds

-1 t powdered ginger

-fresh cilantro

-unsalted peanuts

so, what you do is this:

1) if you are using the soy curls, soak them in water like the directions say, drain, and then marinade in 1 T soy sauce and 1 t ginger powder... if you aren't using the curls, do the same thing with the tofu/chicken.  cook these two accordingly when you are done (to cook the tofy, cut it up and put it in the oven until dried up a little and browned)

2) boil water, throw in noodles... however many you want, i only made a little and went heavy on the veggies

3) steam veggies

4) after veggies are steamed, throw them in a frying pan to continue heating, toss in noodles and soy curls (or tofu or chicken) as well, put on low

5) mix up all the sauce ingredients and make smooth (i had to microwave mine to get the pb soft)

6) put as much as you'd like over the veggie noodle mix, mix all together

7) toss some fresh cilantro and peanuts on top... add lime juice to tastes-- VOILA!