This one-dish meal combines delicious flavor with tremendous energy. Soba noodles made from strengthening buckwheat provide enduring stamina. The rich protein of fried seitan gives us great stamina, and just so things don’t get too heavy, there are loads of lightly cooked veggies for freshness.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces soba noodles
- 1 cup organic corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
- Handful snow peas, trimmed and left whole
- 1 to 2 carrots, julienned
- 2 stalks broccoli, cut into small florets, stems peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 to 3 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
- 1 ripe pear, halved, cored, and thinly sliced
- 1 lemon juice
- Organic soy sauce, to taste
- 1 teaspoon kuzu root or arrowroot powder, dissolved in a small amount of cold water
- Avocado or non-GMO sunflower oil, for frying
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- Small handful sesame seeds, lightly pan toasted
- 8 ounces seitan, thickly sliced
- 2 to 3 fresh scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal, for serving
How to Make It
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package directions until al dente. Drain and rinse well to remove the extra salt that coats the noodles.
- While the noodles cook, bring a small pot of salted water to a boil and begin cooking the vegetables separately, in the order listed above, beginning with the corn kernels and ending with the shiitakes. You want them to be just crisptender, so don’t boil them to death. The shiitakes will take a bit longer than the rest of the vegetables, so test them.
- Combine the veggies in a large mixing bowl. Toss the pear with the lemon juice and mix it in with veggies, juice and all. Transfer 1 cup of the vegetable cooking water to another small pot. Warm through over low heat. Season lightly with soy sauce and stir in the dissolved kuzu, stirring until the mixture thickens. Spoon the mixture over the cooked vegetables and mix well to coat.
- While cooking the noodles and veggies, heat about 1 inch of oil in a deep skillet. Combine the flour and sesame seeds in a shallow plate. Dredge the seitan slices in the mixture to coat well. When the oil is hot, fry the seitan until golden on both sides, turning to fry evenly. Drain well on parchment or paper towels.
- To serve, toss the cooked noodles with the glazed veggie mixture and arrange on a serving platter. Top with the seitan and garnish with the scallion slices. Serve immediately.
