Ideal for a Meat Free Monday, or any other day of the week for that matter.
A recipe inspired by the flavours of the East, this dish of aubergines, rice noodles and peanut dressing is light, vibrant, and super healthy. And that’s all you can ask for from a dish right?
Some conscious cooks lightly salt the aubergines over a colander around 30 minutes prior to cooking to extract some moisture and bitterness, but this is largely unnecessary with modern aubergines, which are bred to be less bitter.
Anyway, let’s get to it. Midweek, meat free dinners needn’t be boring, ascetic or overly wholesome. Instead, get your chops round this; our IDEAL recipe for stir fried rice noodles with aubergine and a peanut dressing, courtesy of Waitrose & Partners.
- Vegetarian
- Preparation time: 15 minutes
- Cooking time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 30 minutes
- Serves: 2
WHAT YOU NEED
1 medium aubergine
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp reduced salt soy sauce
1 tbsp Japanese rice vinegar
1 tbsp smooth peanut butter (with no added sugar)
1 tsp honey
275g pack cooked rice noodles
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded or coarsely grated
100g sugar snap peas, blanched and sliced on the diagonal
2 salad onions, finely sliced
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
1. Halve the aubergine lengthways, then cut each half into 3 long wedges. Halve these long wedges widthways to make shorter wedges and toss in a bowl with 2 tsp sunflower oil and a pinch of salt. Heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the aubergine and fry on each side for 3 minutes until tender and golden all over.
2. Meanwhile, make the dressing by whizzing the soy sauce, vinegar, peanut butter and honey in a small blender until smooth.
3. Remove the aubergine from the pan and set aside. Add the noodles and remaining 1 tsp oil to the pan and fry, tossing, for 2-3 minutes until heated through. Take off the heat and toss through the carrot and sugar snaps. Divide between plates, top with the aubergine and salad onions, and spoon over the dressing.