Winter Vegetable Stir Fry with Bean Noodles

By Abi & Sadhbh of The Sustainable Food Story

You know the story...winter months draw in and it's time to get a little cozy, but you had a long day at work and you would like something quick to fill you up!

Enter stage left The Sustainable Food Story’s meeting stir fry. The stir fry is a staple dinner on those days when we've been working all day and still need a meal for the team meeting in the evening.

We are passionate about in-season vegetables and love this recipe because it’s really forgiving. You can use any vegetables you have on-hand. We always try and use a range of colours and textures.

Plus we are passionate about locally-grown food and celebrating pulses (edible dry peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas from the legume family), so we've swapped our rice, which isn't grown in our region, for a bean based noodle. Beans and pulses are a great source of nutrients, but also an alternative source of protein in a mainly plant-based meal.

Enjoy!

Winter veg stir fry with black bean noodles

Serves: 4

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Ingredients

1 head of broccoli/cauliflower, plus leaves, roughly chopped
A double handful of hardy leaves. For example chard/cauliflower leaves/spinach/cabbage, roughly chopped
2 carrots, washed but unpeeled. Chopped into matchsticks
A good double handful of any winter vegetables you have (2 medium beetroot; 2 handfuls of Brussels sprouts, etc.). Grated or chopped into matchsticks
2 small shallots, finely chopped
Fresh ginger, about the size of half of your thumb; peeled and finely chopped
1 chilli, medium heat; finely chopped
4 garlic cloves; thinly sliced
Soy sauce, dark or light (depending on how strong you like it)
2 hearty tablespoons of sesame or vegetable oil
200g grams of your chosen pulse noodle (we used black bean)

Optional extras

2 tsp Chinese 5 spice
Handful of chopped peanuts to garnish
Squeeze of lime
Splash of rice wine (10ml)

Directions

Boil a pot full of water.
While waiting for the pot to boil, chop all of your vegetables and heat your vegetable oil in a large pan or wok. Then, add your onions and saute until soft (starting to brown a little, a couple of minutes).
Add your garlic, ginger and chilli, cook for a couple more minutes then add all your other vegetables in.
Your vegetables will cook at different rates, root vegetables, such as beetroot, take longer than cauliflower florets, so these should be cut smaller or grated (which provides a nice range of textures and flavours).
Add your soy sauce, and if you want to your 5 spice and rice wine vinegar.
Leave the pan cooking on low, sizzling away until you’re happy with the vegetables’ textures.
When your pot of water is boiling, add hearty pinch of salt and place your noodles in the water.
Boil for 3-5 minutes, or as long as packet instructions direct, then drain.
Place the noodles in a bowl and cover with your vegetables.
Enjoy!