Weekday lunches serve as kind of a sanctuary for me. After meeting with people in the morning, I love coming home to my quiet kitchen where I focus simply on lunch. I'm usually pretty hungry, too, so if I'm not heating up leftovers, I prefer to make a dish that doesn't take terribly long! Being a bit health-obsessed, however, I want to make a colorful dish with plenty of veggies.
What combines comfort, fresh vegetables, and ease/speed? Noodle bowls! The following recipe is a variation of the kind of one-pot noodle bowls I make at home when I want something quick and satisfying that packs a nutritional punch. For this recipe, I'm using mung bean noodles (a.k.a. "Chinese Glass Noodles" or "Cellophane Noodles"). Although the noodles aren't nutritionally dense (or all that flavorful), mung bean noodles are a source of vitamin B6, folate, and choline.
Bonus: This dish is pretty cheap to make and requires very standard ingredients. I found everything at my local (non-health-food) grocery store. You may have to do a little hunting in the Asian cuisine section for the glass noodles. Thin rice noodles may be subsituted. If you've got a little extra in your grocery budget, however, this glass noodle bowl would taste great with shiitake mushrooms ;)
YIELDS
2 servings
PREP TIME
COOK TIME
TOTAL TIME
- 2 nests of glass noodles
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1-inch chunk of ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 handful of shredded cabbage
- 1 handful of shredded carrots
- 1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
- 1 green onion, finely chopped
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 2 handfuls fresh greens
- lime wedges to garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. In a medium-sized pot set at medium heat, warm the coconut oil. Sauté the onion until soft (about 5 minutes).
2. Add garlic and ginger and sauté another minute.
3. Add water, vegetable broth, soy sauce (or tamari), and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil, add glass noodles, then bring back to a simmer. Stir the glass noodles occasionally, allow them to cook until soft (10-15 minutes).
4. In the meantime, prepare your topping vegetables (carrots, cabbage, bell pepper, avocado, and onion). Place a handful of fresh greens in two bowls.
5. Divide the noodles and the liquid between the two bowls (the greens will be sitting under the noodles).
6. Top with carrots, cabbage, green onion, avocado, and bell pepper. Add lime to garnish and serve.
Photos: Mary Hood Luttrell
