This is a really quick and easy meal that I usually keep vegetarian but the possibilities are endless. We aim for about 100 mg of sodium per meal, so if I'm keeping it really low sodium like this then I'll serve some kind of protein on the side or just use higher sodium vegetables like more carrots or celery. One large carrot or stalk of celery has about as much sodium as a serving of chicken breast! It's really not very hard to hit 100 mg of sodium.
Servings: 4 Sodium: About 35 mg per serving Time: 45 minutes
Sauce ingredients:
1/4 cup soy sauce substitute*
1 tablespoon unsalted peanut butter (or other nut/seed butter)
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon grated ginger
6 cloves minced or pressed garlic
Optional - 2 teaspoons low sodium hot sauce*
Other ingredients:
8 ounces dry noodles/pasta (I like linguini), cooked according to package
About 3-4 cups of vegetables of your choice, I used the following:
2 cups beansprouts
2 medium carrots, julienned
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 cup snow peas
6 stalks green onions
Lime juice and sesame seeds for serving
*I use my homemade low sodium soy sauce substitute which has just 5 mg of sodium per tablespoon. If you don't have the soy sauce substitute handy, you can use any soy sauce alternative that you use (like coconut aminos, Worcestershire sauce, low sodium tamari, etc.). You won't be using 1/4 cup of any of these, so use whatever amount fits into your diet. You don't need to modify the rest of the recipe.
1) Cook the noodles according to the package directions and set aside. Make sure they are dry by the time you add them to the vegetables.
2) Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
3) Sauté each of the vegetables separately in a little cooking oil over high heat until cooked but still firm and set aside. You can set the cooked vegetables aside in a big bowl together, just don't cook them together. This is a really simple dish with a light sauce and it relies heavily on the flavor of the vegetables so it really does make a difference if you cook the vegetables separately. Some people will say sauté the light colored vegetables first and then work your way to the darker colors but I like a more practical approach. I start with whatever is the easiest to cut so I can start cooking while I'm chopping up the next vegetable. Bean sprouts are always first, carrots are usually last.
4) On high heat, add the cooked vegetables back to the hot pan (or wok in this case), add the noodles, then the sauce and stir to combine for a minute or two. Top with lemon or lime juice, sesame seeds, sesame oil, fried shallots, or scallions and serve hot!
