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Asian Noodle Bowl
Back in the 1990s, there was a great little hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurant in Boulder, Colorado that served one of my favorite dishes. For $3.95, they served a lunch special simply called Grilled Chicken. They would marinate, then grill boneless chicken, getting just the right amount of flame to brown it perfectly. The chicken was served it on top of rice noodles with bean sprouts and gobs of cilantro, making it hard to beat. They went out of business after a three year run, but I have never forgotten how much I liked that combination.
That taste memory came back when I was in Orlando recently, and had a tofu noodle bowl at the hotel café. When I got back home, I worked up a great noodle bowl idea for a fast and healthy lunch or dinner.
the healthy ingredients
You can make it less work if you are firing up the grill the night before – just add a couple of boneless chicken thighs or breasts to the grill, then refrigerate overnight. The next day all you have to do is boil some rice noodles for two minutes and chill them with cold running water. After the noodles are drained put them in the bottom of a bowl and top with shredded cabbage (green or Napa), shredded carrots, bean sprouts and cilantro. Cut up the cooked chicken and put it on top of the noodles, and veggies. Then top this with an Asian salad dressing (Annie’s Shiitake Vinaigrette is a good choice), and you have a winner.
chop and slice
This recipe of noodles and vegetables is versatile and works well with grilled shrimp, beef, pork, duck, chicken or tofu. For the final touch the noodle bowl can be topped with scallions, toasted sesame seeds or dried bonito flakes (katsobushi). If you like it hot, try kicking it up with Sriracha hot sauce or jalapeno slices.
Noodles first
With the heat of summer not far off, this will shorten your time in the kitchen without sacrificing flavor or healthfulness. It is a low-fat, gluten-free dish that makes a good packed lunch or sit down meal for a hot summer’s day. As always please leave comments and forward this on to friends and family.
Asian Noodle Bowl
4 oz dry rice noodles, the thin type
2 cups fresh cabbage shredded
1 cup carrots, shredded or in long threads
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1/2 cup red bell pepper, sliced thin longways
2 stalks celery sliced at an angle 1/4 inch thin
2 cups tofu, or cooked chicken*
carrots and celery join the party
Cook rice noodles per package instructions, about 2 minutes then rinse with cold water and drain well.
Place half of the noodles in each bowl, or plate.
Top with half the shredded cabbage.
Top with carrots and celery.
Arrange cilantro on one side and red bell peppers on the other leaving a space in the middle for the meat.
Add tofu or chicken.
Serve with your favorite Asian style salad dressing.*
Serves two as an entree or four as a starter salad.
Note
*Grilled chicken, beef or pork hot off the grill goes well on top of this dish. Even though the veggies and noodles are cold or at room temperature the hot meat doesn’t adversely affect its quality.
If you want a cold or room temperature dish use chilled tofu or chilled chicken.
*For this recipe I like Annies Shitake Vinaigrette salad dressing or try my Asian dressing recipe at:http://www.fastandfuriouscook.com/spring-greens-great-salad-dressing-recipe/
This could be salad or soup?
If you add broth to it and cook for few minutes could be soup too!!??
It could be either but I’d omit the red bell peppers or serve them on the side with the cilantro. For the broth I’d us 2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth. First you would heat the broth to a boil and toss in the carrots, celery, and meat for about 3 minutes then add the noodles and maybe add some green onions. Cook for for another 2 minutes and you have a tasty soup. I make soups like this often at home as it is quick and healthy comfort food on a cold winter day.
I like to put the shredded carrots in vinegar to soak for awhile too – I really miss those noodle bowls in Denver!
Me too! I remember some of the restaurants on Federal serving a noodle dish and the carrots or noodles had vinegar in them. I usually don’t use that method at home not being a big fan of industrial vinegar. If they used Braggs or Spectrum natural vinegar I’d like that.