Asian-inspired noodle dishes are one of my favorite quick, weeknight meal ideas. With a handful of pantry staples, you can easily create a variety of dishes that are sure to impress and satisfy.
My basic template is this: choose a protein, vegetables, noodles (or rice!) and a sauce. Cook the protein and vegetables, add sauce and serve over the noodles. Asian-inspired noodles also make a great lunch to take to work. In almost all of these categories, leftovers work great. Making Asian-inspired noodles is a great way to both use up leftovers and speed the cooking time.
1. Choose a Protein
In my opinion, almost anything works here, especially leftovers. A few suggestions:
- tofu, pan-fried (with or without tossing in cornstarch first) or baked
- chicken breast – leftover or otherwise
- black beans
- thinly sliced steak
- thinly sliced pork
- sliced hard boiled eggs
2. Decide on your Vegetables
My approach here is to use whatever I have on hand to use up, but some things definitely work better than others. My favorites include:
- cabbage
- green onions
- green cabbage
- mushrooms
- carrots (shredded, sliced or diced)
- onions
- broccoli (fresh or frozen)
- cauliflower (fresh or frozen)
- string beans or green beans
- bok choy
- bean sprouts
- kale
- spinach
3. Pick a Grain
Most of the time, I use buckwheat soba noodles for my Asian-inspired dishes, but there are definitely other options:
- rice noodles
- lo mein noodles
- rice
- barley
- even spaghetti!
4. MAke A Sauce
I do not have a sauce recipe. Generally, I use about a 1/4 cup of soy sauce with a splash of sesame oil, and some grated fresh ginger and minced garlic. But I don’t think I’ve done the same thing twice and I’m always excited to try new sauce recipes I find online.
Other additions you might consider:
- lime juice
- hoisin sauce
- sugar
- mirin
- maple syrup
- fermented or spicy black beans (I found mine at our local Asian market)
- garlic
- brown sugar
- rice vinegar
- sesame seeds
- powered or fresh ginger
If this free-form approach to sauce makes you nervous, I’ve had success with the sauces from these recipes:
- Homemade Teriyaki Sauce (Food52)
- Sweet and Sour Sauce (The Wannabe Chef)
- Veggie Red Coconut Curry (Serious Eats)
- Soba Noodles with Peanut/Sesame Sauce and Julienned Vegetables (Food in Jars)
- Simple Sesame Noodles (The Pioneer Woman)
5. Assemble the Dish
Assembling your Asian-inspired Noodle Bowl is definitely not a one-size-fits-all situation. Depending on whether your protein is raw, your vegetables are fresh or frozen and the cooking time of your chosen grain, the order in which you cook the components is going to greatly vary. In general, start with the most frozen or raw ingredients first and then work on what’s left. Also keep in mind your grain cooking time – if you’re making brown rice, perhaps start that before cooking anything else, but soba noodles will cook in just a few minutes.may want to cook the vegetables separately, especially in the case of hearty vegetables like carrots or frozen vegetables. Quick cooking vegetables, like spinach or thinly sliced cabbage can be added to the pan with the cooked protein and cooked briefly. When all the vegetables and protein are cooked, combine them in one pan (if they’re not already!) and top with sauce.
