Rainbow Veggie Rice Noodle Stir-Fry

So there’s this restaurant here called Hu Hot, and it’s one of those Mongolian Grill places where you “build a bowl,” and they cook it on this big flat top next to everyone else’s bowls. Sanitation score? Questionable. Flavor? #Bomb.

My brother Lawson looooooves this place, so it’s not uncommon that after church we end up heading over to Hu Hot for our weekly post-church lunch tradition. I don’t complain…I love this place, too. I love it for a few large reasons…firstly: they have a ton of awesome veggies. Secondly: they have rice noodles, which is uncommon at Mongolian Grills like this (at least the ones I’ve been to). Thirdly: their sauce selection is on POYNT, yo.

So my standard routine at this place is loading up my bowl with a bunch of veggies, an embarrassing amount of rice noodles, and approximately…hmm…seventeen times the amount of sauce ladles that they recommend. They cook it on the big flat top as my sauce shamelessly bleeds into a two foot circumference outside of my noodles and veggies (sorry, Hu Hot workers…I like ma sauce), hand me my steaming plate of flavorful goodness, and then I sprinkle some peanuts over top of everything before heading back to my table in rice noodle bliss. It’s love.

Lately, I have been craving Hu Hot more than ever…thanks, pregnancy. In order to spare everyone two siblings that fight for Hu Hot every single week after church, I decided to satiate my craving at home with this version. And, let me tell you, internet frands, this at-home version blows Hu Hot’s version out of the water! It gives me a serious case of the kitchen happy dances.

Let’s talk details.

First we have the veggies: a perfect mix of broccoli, red onion, carrots (pre-shredded to save your precious self about twenty minutes of slicing), shallot, garlic, and ginger. Get to choppin’ people – it’s the only part of this recipe that requires the slightest bit of maintenance.

Second we have the noodles: we boil half a pound of rice noodles for about five minutes before draining them, rinsing them with cold water, and stir-frying them in with our veggies and sauce. Speaking of sauce…

The SAUCE: love this sauce. It’s a mix of soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, brown sugar, peanut butter, sesame oil, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and some cornstarch. Just pour your different thangs into a jar, shake it up, and add it into your veggies and noodles when the time is right.

So here’s our process – saute the veggies while your water comes to a boil. Keep sauteing as the noodles boil for five minutes. Add your cooked noodles to your veggies. Add your sauce. Stir-fry for a few minutes until the sauce absorbs into the noodles and/or thickens and coats everything in saucy goodness.

Top with copious amounts of cilantro and chopped peanuts.

YAS.

Seth has a four day weekend this week, so he gets Friday and Monday off. In the name of working from home and making my own schedule, I want to have a “four day weekend” with him. So, as I write this, it’s actually Thursday, even though you are reading it on Friday. Hello from yesterday 😏. So in order to get this “four day weekend,” I have to cook, photograph, and write two posts in one day (Thursday!). Whewwww, gurl.

I don’t know if it’s gunna happen. I woke up this morning, went grocery shopping, cooked for several hours, went to babysit my niece and nephew for a few hours, and now I am sitting at my standard coffee shop typing away. We have to go to this Army thing called a “Hail and Farewell” tonight, which is really throwing a wrench into my plans. Standby on Monday’s post to see if I got that one written today (again…Thursday 😉), or if it ended up being pushed back a day or three. Or four.

Being 34 weeks pregnant and grocery shopping/cooking all day AIN’T NO JOKE, people! Jeeze louise. It has me huffing and puffing to walk up the stairs, let alone be on my feet in the kitchen for the better part of a day. It’s worth it, though. Because food is awesome with a capital A. And I like you all. And I like word vomiting my life to you.

I will say, though, based on my experience of attempting to babysit my niece and nephew while blogging? Blogging while pregnant is a walk in the park comparatively. To you full-time bloggers that are also full-time mommas out there…I salute you. And I shall join your ranks soon. No idea how it’s going to logistically happen, but we’re going to figure it out, danget!

Until then…noodles!

Rainbow Veggie Rice Noodle Stir-Fry

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

Loaded with a plethora of veggies and covered in a flavor-bomb sauce, these rice noodles couldn’t get any more delicious! It’s the perfect weeknight meal.

• Author: Annie Chesson
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the stir-fry:

• 8 oz rice noodles
• 1 small head broccoli, diced into small florets
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin slices
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot (most grocery stores sell pre-shredded carrot in the same section as the other bags of carrots)
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• Coconut oil for pan
• Optional (but HIGHLY recommended) toppings: chopped cilantro, chopped peanuts

For the sauce:

• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari if gluten free)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat and add a spoonful of coconut oil. When boiling, add your rice noodles and boil for five minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent noodles sticking together. When done, drain the noodles in a colander and rinse with cold water.
2. Meanwhile, prep your veggies.
3. In a large skillet, add a spoonful of coconut oil over medium heat. When hot, add your veggies. Saute, stirring often, until veggies are cooked (tender but still have a bite). Add more coconut oil throughout the cooking process if things get too dry.
4. While the veggies and noodles are cooking, make your sauce. Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl or jar and whisk or shake to combine thoroughly.
5. When the veggies are done, add the noodles to the pan with the veggies and stir to combine. Pour all of your sauce into the pan and saute for a few minutes until all the sauce has either absorbed into the noodles or has thickened and is coating the noodles and veggies.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper and top with cilantro and peanuts.

Notes

Omit the red pepper flakes if you don’t want the dish to be spicy at all.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cup
• Calories: 356
• Sugar: 11 g
• Sodium: 1083 mg
• Fat: 8 g
• Carbohydrates: 59 g
• Fiber: 4 g
• Protein: 6 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!

In the mood for more yummy Asian noodle dishes? Check these out:

Simple Sesame Noodles

Spicy Thai Noodle Bowls

Cold Soba Noodle Salad