Spicy Peanut and Lemongrass Pho Noodles

Today I made spicy pho noodles loaded with veggies and flavored with peanut and lemongrass.

Pho is phockin' awesome. If you haven't tried it before, I hope this inspires you to make some for yourself at home. Pho is a rice noodle, traditionally found in Vietnamese soup. One thing about these noodles is that they are very easy to overcook. You do not cook them like you would cook pasta, make sure to follow the package directions carefully. I was actually able to find pho noodles made with brown rice (sweet).

The first thing I (always) do before I start cooking is put on some music.

It's sometimes difficult to find fresh lemongrass in your local grocery store. I was surprised to find them jarred and figured I'd give them a shot. They weren't bad, but definitely nothing compared to the real thing.

In my recipe, I call for 2 coins of fresh ginger. This is what 2 coins of fresh ginger look like:

I also found these beautiful mini bell peppers, they come in a bag mixed with yellow, orange and red peppers. You can use 1 large bell pepper if you can't find these puppies anywhere.

To prevent the noodles from getting mooshy, cook them separately first and set aside. Saute your veggies in a large pan and then add the cooked noodles at the very end. 

This came out pretty spicy, so if you can't handle spicy food, just leave out the jalapeno pepper.

Spicy Peanut Lemongrass Pho Noodles

by Sarah Farsh, March 1, 2012

• 3 cups brown rice noodles, cooked and set aside
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch enokitak mushroom
• 4 cups cabbage, shredded
• 1 cup carrots, shredded
• 1 bunch broccoli, chopped
• 7 mini bell peppers (or 1 large bell pepper), sliced
• 1 jalapeno pepper (leave out if your a baby)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 coins ginger, minced
• 1/3 cup green onion, sliced
• 1 tbsp lemongrass
• 2 cups vegetable stock (more or less)
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp fresh peanut butter, no salt or oil added
• 2 tbsp water

In a small bowl, whisk honey, soy sauce, peanut butter and water together. Set aside. Heat up large skillet or wok. Dry saute onions on high heat, lower heat after 2 minutes to medium heat. Poor a little veggie stock into pan so onions don't stick. Add in mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, broccoli, peppers, garlic, ginger, chili flakes, green onion and lemongrass - adding more veggie stock whenever veggies start sticking to pan. Poor peanut sauce on top of sauteed veggies and mix well. Add in rice noodles and toss very lightly. Garnish with a lime wedge, cilantro, green onions, crushed peanuts and... sriracha.