With leftover whole wheat spaghetti noodles from the night, I made the No Oil Pesto Pasta recipe, and I decided to make this Asian Noodle Salad. It’s chock-full of plant-based veggies.
You can substitute rice noodles for wheat if you want to stay gluten-free, but I think you’ll love this recipe either way.
Soba noodles would also be fun in this recipe. There are many variations, such as green tea soba noodles, buckwheat noodles, and even black rice.
When you’re swapping noodles, be sure to read the ingredients. Most are available in organic, gluten-free versions.
This recipe uses an Asian cooking staple known as chili garlic sauce. You can buy it almost anywhere, but did you know you can also make it yourself? By making homemade sauce, you can control the heat and oil.
This would make a great homemade gift to give a party hostess or for the holidays.
Here are a few more tasty plant-based meals:
- Easy Chana Masala With Chickpeas & Yams
- Sheet Pan Tempeh Puttanesca
- One Pot Penne Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce
- Moroccan Chickpea Vegetable Tagine
I’ve added Baked Tofu and a can of kidney beans to this recipe, but it also tastes delicious without these extras. You can also get creative with the veggies if you want to change it up or use more of your favorite.
Press the tofu using a tofu press or by wrapping it in paper towels and placing it on a plate with another plate on top. Put something heavy on top. Press for around 15 minutes and follow the remaining instructions.
One of my favorite tofu presses is The TofuBud.
Although the snow pea gives it a great crunch, broccoli would work, too. You can use orange and yellow bell peppers to make the salad colorful. You could even throw in some bean sprouts and water chestnuts for texture and extra crispness.
This recipe calls for peanut butter; the healthiest store-bought versions contain just peanuts and no other additives. You can make this simple homemade version if you have extra time and want to control the salt or ingredients.
This dish is so easy that it’s perfect for a quick lunch or any weeknight meal. As I mentioned, you can change up the veggies to make it multiple times a month.
I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below for this Asian Noodle Salad recipe! If you have a photo, post it on my Facebook page, tag me using the hashtag #plantbasedcooking
Asian Noodle Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 medium carrots grated
- 4 scallions chopped
- 1 small red pepper cut into small strips
- 3 cups snow peas string removed and cut into thirds
- 1/3 cup cilantro chopped
- 1 12 oz. package whole grain pasta
- 1 (15-oz.) can kidney beans drained and rinsed (optional)
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/3 cup low-sodium tamari (or low-sodium soy sauce)
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp chili garlic sauce
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
Baked Tofu
- 1 16 oz. container firm organic tofu drained
- 1/4 cup low-sodium tamari (or low-sodium soy sauce)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 dash hot sauce
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Boil pasta in a large pot of water until tender (al dente). Drain, reserving a little pasta water.
- While pasta is cooking, with a whisk, blend the peanut butter, tamari (or soy sauce), vinegar, chili garlic maple syrup, and ginger until smooth. Add a little pasta water if it’s too thick.
- Cook the snow peas in scant water for about 3-5 minutes. Add them to a large bowl with the other vegetables.
- Add cooked pasta, baked tofu and beans, if using, and pour dressing over. Toss well to coat.
Baked Tofu
- Press the tofu using a tofu press or by wrapping in paper towels and placing it on a plate with another plate on top. Put something heavy on top. Press for around 15 minutes while you prepare the other veggies.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray a non-stick baking sheet with oil.
- Slice tofu into 1″ cubes.
- In a bowl, stir together the soy sauce, maple syrup, ketchup, vinegar, hot sauce, garlic powder, and black pepper.
- Gently stir tofu cubes into sauce. Cover and marinate for at least 10 minutes.
- Place tofu on the baking sheet in a single layover. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn tofu, and bake until it turn golden brown, around 15 minutes more.
sugar and soy sauce amounts are missing from the recipe.
Thanks for bringing that to my attention. The instructions needed updating, but the ingredients were correct. We’re using maple syrup instead of sugar and tamari (or soy sauce if you prefer) in the dressing.
In the picture it looks like there are ingredients not listed. Are there pinto beans in the picture? Also, what are the cubes shapes in the picture? Thanks.
Good eye, you are so right. Thanks for pointing that out! I’ve updated the recipe to include Baked Tofu and a can of kidney beans, but they are not required because this dish is delicious even without these additions.
Dear Diane,
Thank you for sharing your recipes and ideas. I wish to include more salad meals as part of my diet and so I’ve been going through your salad recipes and I’m quite keen to try them out.
What I did realise is that the many suggestions you highlight before the recipe card do not reflect under Notes while printing off the recipe. Would it be possible to make that change? It would be of great help!
Best regards,
Hazel
Hi Hazel. Thanks for your suggestion! I updated the Asian Noodle Salad recipe already and will go through the others, as well. Check back in a couple of days and they should be done. I hope you enjoy the salads. 🙂