Javanese Peanut Pasta

I'm about to illuminate the largest difference between me & my better half. Here goes. Brace yourself!

I like to cook and eat vegan. He, well, doesn't.

I'll give you an example. Last night, I called to see if he found the concept of peanut pasta palatable.

Me: "What about if we do an Asian peanut butter pasta with veggies?"
Him: "Sounds great!"
Him: .....
Him: "I have to ask the question... because I'm not sure. Does that pasta have meat in it? Because... I need meat in it."

So, lo & behold, there was magically steak in our vegan meal. I found some thin steak on sale at Giant for under $3. The frozen stirfry veggies were on sale too. Score!

The recipe comes from one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, 150 Vegan Favorites by Jay Solomon. It's filling, tasty, quick, & cheap. The only sticky point is that the sauce always manages to need a little tweaking this way or that way. I've minorly adapted it here.

I didn't include the steak recipe. Basically, it was a little bland. I recommend making the steak in the Korean bulgogi way (mirin, soy sauce, something spicy - like red pepper flakes, sesame oil, & garlic).

Adapted Jay's Javanese Peanut Pasta
1 jar roasted red peppers, sliced into strips
1/2 cup of peanut butter (chunky or smooth - chunky gives you peanuts as garnish)
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1/8 cup of water (more or less)
4-6 scallions, chopped
1 package of dried Asian white rice pasta (usually found in 1 lb or 13 oz packages)
2-3 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped fine or microplaned (or a few squirts of the tube of ginger in the produce section)
1 jalapeno, chopped fine (or 1 tsp cayenne pepper or a squirt of Sriracha)
1 garlic clove
1.5 cups of frozen stirfry veggies, defrosted optimally
2 tablespoons oil - either sesame or peanut - or whatever you've got
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Set the water for the pasta to boil over the stove.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add veggies, garlic clove, ginger, and jalapeno (if using) & saute for a few minutes. Lower heat to medium-low. Add peanut butter and soy sauce. This mixture will melt down a little over the heat & give your veggies a nice coating. Be sure to taste the sauce & add little extra ginger, soy, spice, or peanut butter if needed. If the sauce is too thick, add in a little water. If it's too thin, let it sit on the heat until it thickens.

3. Make the pasta. It normally only takes about 3-5 minutes. If the pasta's done before the sauce is, then strain it & rinse it to keep it from sticking. Rice pasta's always a little more gummy than semolina pasta.

4. Mix the pasta with the veggie sauce in a big bowl. Mix in the roasted red peppers. Top with scallions and cilantro.

OMG, yum. & so filling. 4.5/5 for me.