Sweet Potato Noodles with Peanut Sauce
Sweet potato is a food group, right? I'll have to ask Michelle Obama, but I'm pretty sure it is. Not quite a vegetable, not a quite a starch, but perfectly perfect in it's own starchy vegetable-y way. I usually eat one sweet potato a week, which fulfills the myplate requirement for sweet potatoes (again, I'll have to double check with the first lady, but I'm pretty sure this is accurate).
This recipe was inspired by one of my closest friends who has a few dietary restrictions. Not like, oh I'm feeling bloated this week so I must be allergic to gluten, but for real serious dietary restrictions that affect her daily life. In fact, she gave me the recipe for making the tofu (thanx gurl) so I kind of made the rest of the recipe with her diet in mind and I think it turned out great!
What resulted was a kind of pad-tai recipe, and it's pretty bomb ya'll. Soft sweet potato noodles with lightly cooked broccoli and spicy tofu, all coated in a salty-sweet peanut sauce and topped with crunchy chopped peanuts. More please! This recipe is gluten free and vegan, but it doesn't have to be! You can sub chicken for the tofu and use real noodles instead of patoodles (LOLZ I just made up a silly name for potato noodles).
That being said, This recipe is really delicious just how it is and I encourage anyone who would enjoy a typical pad thai to try this one and see what ya think! Just because it's super healthy doesn't mean that it's bad :) My roommate even requested that I make this. REQUESTED IT!! No big deal, it's just that the people are clamoring for a taste of my noodles. Here's how the conversation between me and my imaginary foodie fans goes: "Who, ME?! Oh stop! Yes, I know the patoodles are amazing, I created them! A-hahahaha!" My mind is a weird place, folks. MAKE THE NOODLES.
Sweet Potato Noodles with Peanut Sauce
Serves: 3-4
Total time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
2 sweet potato
1 head of broccoli
1 tsp coconut oil
chopped peanuts (for topping)
For Tofu:
1/2 package of firm or extra firm tofu
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste (very spicy- be careful!)
sprinkle of sesame seeds
For Peanut Sauce:
2 tbsp sriracha
2 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp creamy or crunchy peanut butter
1 tbsp mirin
3 tbsp honey
Directions:
1. Peel the sweet potato and spiralize it into noodles. If your spiralizer has size options, the bigger size works better. Trim stems off broccoli and cut into bite size pieces. Set aside vegetables to make tofu.
2. Cut tofu into bite size blocks. Add coconut oil to a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. When oil is melted, add tofu to the skillet. Toss cumin, paprika, soy sauce, mirin, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper into pan with tofu and mix until tofu is coated. Cook tofu until browned and crispy. Sprinkle on sesame seeds, toss to mix with the tofu, and remove tofu from pan and set aside.
3. Add all peanut sauce ingredients to a large bowl and whisk them together until everything is mixed into a smooth brown sauce. Add sweet potato noodles and broccoli to the empty tofu pan with a tsp of coconut oil. Cook until the noodles are soft and the broccoli is tender but still crisp. Add tofu back to the pan with the noodles and broccoli, and pour on the peanut sauce. Stir to coat everything with sauce. Serve topped with chopped peanuts
