One of the things that will help you get in the kitchen more frequently is not only practice, but practice of what I like to call “cooking by instinct”. When we cook by instinct it means there’s no specific recipe to follow, no measuring of ingredients, just the knowledge and intuition of how to put certain ingredients together so that they turn into a delicious and easy meal we can turn to again and again.
For this particular purpose, every once in a while I create a “recipe” that is so foolproof it’s almost impossible to mess it up, we call them quick fixes. Today, I’m teaching you how to make one of those weeknight meals I love to make for Carlos and myself on an almost weekly basis. I’m also showing you my favorite way to quickly add a ton of flavor and delicious texture to a vegan meat alternative for when you want something meaty and fast.
These weeknight noodles are amazing, and the most important thing to keep in mind is that noodles should be soaked in hot water, not boiled, and that when stir-frying them or sautéing them in a pan, you need to do so for each serving individually, so that the veggies are properly cooked and don’t steam due to overcrowding in the pan.
There’s no need to measure in this recipe, but just as a general rule, I like to calculate about 150 grams of dried noodles for every 2 servings. You will intuitively know just how much to add of the rest of the ingredients to make this your own after watching the video below. I hope you love it!
Enjoy the video, printable and directions for this yummy vegan main dish below!
WEEKNIGHT NOODLES WITH STICKY NO-CHICKEN BITES
Ingredients
For the sticky no-chicken bites:
- Your favorite vegan chicken alternative (any brand you like, I used Heura by Foods For Tomorrow)
- A drizzle of oil for the pan
- Maple syrup
- Soy sauce or tamari soy sauce Liquid smoke
For the veggies and noodles:
- Your favorite Asian noodles (rice noodles for the GF version) (150 grams for every 2 servings)
- Oil for the pan
- Green onion, some cut into strips and some chopped finely
- Shiitake mushrooms, quartered
- Snow peas
- Finely minced garlic
- Finely minced ginger
- Chili flakes
- Your favorite stir-fry sauce or soy sauce and sriracha sauce (use tamari soy sauce for the GF version)
- This is a quick fix, so no need to measure, make as much or as little as you’d like and practice cooking by instinct!
Directions
1. Soak the noodles in hot water for 15-30 minutes or until pliable. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat a bit of oil in a non-stick pan, and sauté the no-chicken bites until golden on both sides.
3. Add a drizzle of maple syrup, a drizzle of liquid smoke and a bit of soy sauce to the pan and stir until the pieces are well coated and caramelized in the sauce that forms. Place the pieces on a plate and set aside.
4. Wipe down your pan and add a bit more oil. Sauté the mushrooms until golden, then add a bit more oil and add the garlic, ginger and chili flakes in the center of the oil to get the aromatics nice and fragrant. Toss everything together.
5. Add the snow peas and the green onion cut into strips and sauté until the snow peas are glossy but still crunchy. Season with a drizzle of soy sauce.
6. Remove from the pan and set the veggies aside.
7. Add a bit more oil to the same pan and add a handful of the re-hydrated and drained noodles (the amount for one serving) and sauté. Add any stir - fry sauce you're using or some soy sauce and sriracha. Stir to combine.
8. Add some of the veggies back into the pan with the noodles (enough for one serving), some of the finely chopped scallions and a bit more soy sauce if desired.
9. Remove from the heat and serve in a bowl, repeating steps 4-8 for the remaining servings (it's crucial to cook each serving individually to get the wonderful texture in the noodles and veggies).
10: Once all your servings of noodles have been placed in their bowls, top them with the sticky no.chicken bites and enjoy!
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