Pho Dinner

I used to live in a Vietnamese area of Toronto, but luckily for me there is one Vietnamese restaurant in my neighbourhood - Pho Hung.

Lazy Cold Noodles

Sometimes i like to make really easy cold noodle dishes. I often purchase Tofu Shirataki noodles which you can get at T&T. They are pretty healthy, but you do need to rinse them thoroughly before using them as they have a very funky odour. I prefer the spaghetti or angel hair ones - i think the thicker ones are kinda gross

This time i made them for a quick bite and a couple work lunches. I used some of the leftover veggies i had from my "Asian" Salmon Burgers and cut them finely. The dressing was very similar to that one too.

Mad chopping

Making a mess!

Lime Peanut Noodles

I saw this recipe online and just scribbled down the dressing/sauce ingredients so i just kinda wing it. I'm sure its nothing like the original, but i enjoy it. This is also a decent one to bring to a pot luck, as the noodles and veggies are still good cold and you just need to assemble it on a platter. I actually brought this one to my office's United Way pot luck. When you work with mainly men, pot lucks are very interesting things, either their wives make them something, they buy things prepared by the grocery store (sushi, fruit or veggies) or in the case of my work they also bring in buckets of KFC (aka dirty bird) and Pizza. Seriously!

One of the things i think is really interesting about the peanut sauce is that you do it in a food processor. As i said i don't have the exact proportions, just experiment so that you get them to your liking.

Soy Sauce (1-2 tbsp)
Brown Sugar (1 tsp but check to see if your peanut butter already has sugar, if so omit)
Lime juice and zest (i like lime so two juicy ones and zest to taste)
Warm water (1/2 cup)
Peanut butter (1/2 cup)
Rice Vinegar (1 tbsp)
Scallion (one chopped)
Ginger (1 tsp)
Red Pepper flakes

Boil a pot of water, add whole wheat linguine, though the pasta is really whatever you have on hand, my fall-back is linguine. In the last couple minutes of cooking the pasta add broccoli and sugar peas. Meanwhile carefully cut some medium tofu into bite sized pieces. Drain the pasta and veggies. Toss the pasta with the sauce, reserving some. Plate the pasta, top with broccoli, peas and tofu. Drizzle more dressing on the veggies and tofu. You can add roasted peanuts or chopped cilantro if you like, i just don't always have them on hand.

A good quick dinner or potluck item. This lasts a couple days, so it also makes a good lunch. The lime zest really gives this simple dish a unique taste and as usual its also a good source of calcium.

Above:

Lime Peanut Noodles with broccoli, tofu and peas
Left overs!!!
Ingredients
Last bites...