Name: Vegan Sesame Soba Noodles with Snow Peas, Radishes, and Cilantro
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: ¼ cup soy sauce; 3 tablespoons chunky peanut butter; 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds; 1½ tablespoons rice vinegar; 1½ tablespoons packed organic light brown sugar; 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger; 1 garlic clove , minced; ¾ teaspoon hot sauce; 12 ounces soba noodles; Salt; 10 radishes , trimmed, halved, and sliced thin; 6 ounces snow peas , strings removed and halved lengthwise; 1 celery rib , sliced thin on bias; 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil; ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves; 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Why This Recipe Works

This pairing may not be typical, but it sure was delicious; the earthy buckwheat soba tasted great with the nutty sauce. Chunky peanut butter and toasted sesame seeds, ground together in the blender, made the perfect stand-in for Asian sesame paste. Garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hot sauce, and brown sugar rounded out the flavors. To avoid gummy noodles and a bland, pasty sauce, we rinsed the soba noodles after cooking to rid them of excess starch. Tossing the noodles with sesame oil separately, before adding the sauce, also helped keep them from absorbing too much sauce and becoming pasty. We added in snow peas, radishes, and celery to provide a sweet, fresh crunch, and we topped the dish with fragrant cilantro and additional toasted sesame seeds to drive home the sesame flavor.

Before You Begin

We like conventional chunky peanut butter here; it tends to be sweeter than natural or old-fashioned versions. Soba noodles can be found near the Japanese ingredients in the supermarket and in Japanese markets. If you cannot find soba noodles, substitute 12 ounces of dried spaghetti or linguine.

Instructions

for the sauce

Process soy sauce, peanut butter, sesame seeds, vinegar, sugar, ginger, garlic, and hot sauce in blender until smooth and mixture has consistency of heavy cream, about 1 minute (adjust consistency with warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed). (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; add warm water as needed to loosen before using.)

for the noodles

and Vegetables Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add noodles and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Drain noodles, rinse with cold water, and drain again.

Transfer noodles to large bowl and toss with radishes, snow peas, celery, sauce, and oil to coat well. Sprinkle with cilantro and sesame seeds and serve.