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Spicy Udon Noodles

I once worked for a boy genius at a computer-games company who raved about the spicy udon noodles he used to get in Cambridge, Massachusetts while he was in college. Once when a group of us were up there on a business trip, he took us to his favorite noodle house to experience them for ourselves. Yummm! Here's a version that you can whip up in your own kitchen. Look in the Asian food section of your grocery store for the Japanese wheat noodles.

I often eat Spicy Udon Noodles when I have lunch alone. This recipe is high in protein and easy to make: you'll be finishing the sauce about the time the noodles are done.

Active time: 8 minutes. Total time: 8 minutes. Serves 1. Vegan.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 packet of udon noodles (noodles usually come divided into servings)

1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon tahini
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon chipotle hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
2 tablespoons hot water

1 cup thinly sliced or shredded raw vegetables, such as cabbage, carrots, or green onions

Method

1. In a small pan, mix water and salt. Add udon noodles. Over high heat, bring to a boil. Turn down heat to medium or just enough to keep noodles barely boiling. Cook until noodles are tender, about 3 minutes.
2. In the bowl in which you plan to eat the noodles, mix the remaining ingredients, taking the two tablespoons of hot water from the noodle pot. Stir until smooth. Slice or shred the vegetables.
3. Drain the noodles and put in bowl with sauce. Stir to coat noodles. Top with vegetables and serve immediately.

Tips and notes

• To make larger quantities of this dish, mix the sauce and noodles in a larger bowl.
• The original restaurant recipe didn't include the raw vegetables but instead sprinkled sesame seeds over the sauced noodles. The salad adds crunch and makes these noodles a complete meal.
• Compared to rotini, udon noodles cook very quickly. Organic udon noodles are often cheaper and easier to find than organic, high-protein Italian-style noodles.