[Clean out the Fridge] Udon Noodles
I don’t know about you, but by the end of the week I have a a ton of vegetable scraps leftover in my fridge. I find a half an onion here, a handful of green beans there, a wedge of cabbage tucked in the back somewhere, a few peppers getting wrinkly, some baby greens starting to wilt. I hate to let anything go to waste, which is why I love meals like these. The star of this dish is the rice vinegar based sauce, it perfectly pulls together those thick toothy noodles and whatever vegetables you happen to have hanging around. I have made several variations of this dish and it comes out great every time. Check out 2 of my most recent creations:
Soooo as I mentioned above the sauce for this dish is vinegar based. Vinegar is kind of a big deal. People ask me about it all of the time. They want to know if it will help them lose weight, lower their blood sugar, if they should drink it with warm water in the morning, etc. Are you ready for the answers?
- Yes, vinegar can help you lose weight, not necessarily a lot of weight, but some. It ramps up an enzyme called AMPK which turns on a switch in your body that makes you burn fat. Most specifically vinegar helps your body burn visceral fat (the fat around your organs). Watch this video for more details.
- Yes, it turns out that vinegar improves insulin resistance, it increases satiety, and decreases the spike in glucose when eaten with high glycemic foods (eh…like udon noodles). By the way this is especially true for those with impaired fasting glucose (pre-diabetes) and diabetes. Check out the research here.
- No, you should not drink vinegar in a glass of water, GROSS. Just eat it in dishes like this or maybe on a salad.
OK, shall we get cooking?
Happy eating and best health,
Dr. G
Ingredients
Noodles:
- 9 oz of udon noodles - I like the Nasoya brand of fresh noodles (in the produce aisle), but dried works as well.
- 3 cups of chopped vegetables of your choice. Almost anything you have will work. I've used combinations of mushrooms, peppers, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, green beans, snap peas, bamboo shoots, broccoli, onions, scallions etc
- 1 big handful of any kind of cooking greens (optional)
- 1/2 block of firm tofu, cut into cubes
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- Sesame seeds and cilantro for serving (optional)
Sauce:
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp Siracha sauce
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp agave nectar or honey (to taste)
Instructions
Sauce:
- Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl, taste and adjust ingredients to your liking, and set aside for later.
Noodles:
- Prepare the noodles according to the package instructions.
- While they are cooking, heat a large frying pan over medium/high heat and add a small amount of cooking spray or water to it.
- Add the tofu and mushrooms (if using) to the pan first and allow them to brown on all sides; 3-5 minutes.
- Add the rest of the 3 cups of vegetables and saute them until they start to soften a little, but still have some crunch to them; 2-3 minutes.
- Add the greens (if using), garlic, and ginger, allow them to soften, but not brown; 1 minute.
- Turn the heat down to low.
- Add the noodles to the pan, toss well.
- Add the sauce to the pan and toss until everything is coated with the sauce; simmer for 1 minute.
- Remove from the heat and serve.
- Sprinkle each serving with sesame seeds and cilantro, if desired.
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