Rice Noodle and Tofurky Stir-Fry (The Informal Target Challenge)

A friend recently complained to me that I haven’t been posting any new recipes lately, and she’s right. I haven’t even fully migrated all the recipes from my previous blog, The Evolved Foodie. I will get to it someday! Meanwhile, said friend (let’s call her Amanda because that’s the name she used to use when meeting creepy guys at bars) also said she was annoyed that I seem to make only complicated recipes with expensive ingredients, which isn’t true at all. I try to always include the freshest or best quality ingredients whenever possible, but that doesn’t mean it’s pricey. I also like to try new things that incorporate healthier ingredients with great taste. But back to my friend.

Earlier this week Amanda called me while she was on a Target run and issued me a challenge. I was charged with coming up with a new vegan recipe with ingredients available from Target. The dish in question had to feed at least four and take less than an hour from prep time to plating. She further declared that this magical dinner recipe had to be absolutely delicious, and look great. The toughest part of all is that Amanda said I’d have only $15.00 to spend on all ingredients, so about $3.50 per serving. If I succeeded, she would donate $100.00 to my nonprofit or buy me art supplies.

Challenge accepted.

Rice Noodle and Tofurky Stir-Fry

I came up with a recipe that’s easy and delicious and wouldn’t be out of place at my favorite vegan restaurant. If you don’t like spinach, you can substitute shelled edamame.

Ingredients:

1. Eight ounces rice noodles (I used A Taste of Thai Straight Cut Rice Noodles 16oz, but you can easily make your own with rice flour and water, though they’ll be a lot goopier!) Price: $4.99, so $2.50 for the amount I used in this recipe
2. One package of oven-roasted Tofurky Price: $3.69
3. One large red onion Price: $1.49
4. One package, about 5 ounces of baby spinach (or substitute edamame or mixed vegetables. Target also has fantastic frozen broccoli florets). Price: $2.69
5. About a cup of sliced mushrooms Price: $1.99

Total for ingredients used: $14.86, though there was half of the package of rice noodles left.

From your kitchen:

• Light olive or safflower oil
• Various spices
• Soy sauce or dipping sauce
• White miso if desired

Optional: crushed peanuts or slivered almonds and shredded carrots to add to the dish, and sliced avocado for garnish.

Instructions:

• Slice the red onion into large-ish pieces. You want it to go with the whole look of the rice noodles, so bigger is better. Saute the onion in about one tablespoon of oil.
• While that cooks, you can prepare the rice noodles. There are two ways to cook rice noodles. You can either submerge in hot water (if you intend to stir fry them) or cook like pasta, for about seven minutes.
• If you bought sliced mushrooms, you’re good to go, just rinse and pat dry. Once onions are translucent, add the mushrooms. Continue to saute and stir until mushrooms are soft.
• Add half the spinach, let cook until it wilts.
• Slice the Tofurky into ribbons that are a different size than the noodles. Separate the pieces.
• When the noodles are ready, drain and add to the onion, mushroom, and spinach mixture. Allow to steam gently. Add the Tofurky and then the seasonings of your choice. I added a bit of white miso blended with water, a bit of soy sauce and some water, and a gentle shake of various chili powders. I stirred and waited until sort of a sauce formed and thickened. I then added the other half of the pack of spinach, so some spinach was wilted and the rest was vibrant green. I then slowly added water a tablespoon at a time until the entire mixture was fragrant and the texture I preferred.
• I would have liked to have added shredded carrots as well, but that wasn’t in the budget for this one! You can also crush peanuts with a drop of spicy red peppers or red pepper sauce, slivered almonds would be nice as well.

And that’s it. When plated this made four extremely generous servings.

P.S. I don’t earn anything on affiliates for this one, I just included links to make it easier for you to find the ingredients.