Week 44 - House of the Flying Noodles

This meal was my first experiment with rice noodles and, while they are inexpensive and easy to prepare, there will be pieces of rice noodle behind my stove for years to come. When the recipe says, "break noodles in half and pull apart slightly," I have images of spaghetti breaking cleanly and diving right into the water. What really happens, though, is that teeny tiny pieces of rice noodle fly six ways to Sunday and they don't want to "pull apart slightly." They take force (or finesse, which I don't have) and it's not pretty.

Having said that, they do cook quickly and they're nice and light which is why it was so surprising that this recipe is VERY filling. This would be a great summer picnic dish but we were caught off guard by making a cold dinner (if I had read the whole recipe ahead of time I might have been prepared for this). It was good but not dazzling and it would feed a lot of people. The leftovers, however, were terrible. That was the most disappointing thing about this dish but since the ingredients were cheap I guess it's not the end of the world.

RICE NOODLES WITH PEANUT SAUCE

Source: Betty Crocker's Pasta Cookbook

8 oz. uncooked rice stick noodles - 1/2 C. creamy peanut butter - 2 T. soy sauce - 1 tsp. grated gingerroot - 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper - 1/2 C. chicken broth or water - 4 oz. bean sprouts - 1 small red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips - 2 green onions, sliced - 2 T. chopped fresh cilantro, if desired

Heat 2 quarts water to boiling. Break noodles in half and pull apart slightly; drop into boiling water. Cook uncovered 1 minute; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain.

Mix peanut butter, soy sauce, gingerroot and red pepper with wire whisk in small bowl until smooth. Gradually whisk in broth. Place noodles in large bowl. Add peanut butter mixture, bean sprouts, bell pepper and onions; toss. Sprinkle with cilantro.