Raw Peanut Noodles, and Kitchen Musings

Raw Peanut Noodles

Hi all!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

This recipe is a great lesson in what to do with leftovers. Remember the Asian dressing I mentioned as a part of my raw dinner party? Well, I found myself with a small surplus last week. Since the dressing is highly reminiscent of the peanut sauces one might find in Thai or Chinese restaurants, I figured I would break out my spiralizer and do my best impersonation of peanut noodles. The result? A cool, simple, and delicious summertime recipe.

Gena’s Peanut Noodles (serves 1-2)

Ingredients

Asian Dressing (Makes 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients:

1 inch ginger
1 cup olive oil (or flax oil)
2 tsp sesame oil (toasted)
Juice of 1 lime
4 tbsp mellow white miso
6 dates, pitted, or ¼ cup maple syrup
2 tbsp nama shoyu
1/3 cup water

Blend all ingredients on high till creamy and emulsified.

Noodles:

1 large or 2 small zucchinis, spiralized or sliced with a vegetable peeler
1/2 red pepper, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 carrot, sliced into matchsticks
1/4 large or 1/2 small cucumber, grated or peeled into long strips
Scallions or green onion to garnish

To make the dish, simply prepare and mix all veggies, save the scallions or green onion. Toss them with 1/4 cup sauce, adding more if necessary, and sprinkle with scallions.

Sugar snaps, shitake mushrooms, snow pea shoots, or mung bean sprouts would also be a great addition to the noodles. Experiment with stuff you like, and enjoy!

Raw Peanut Noodles

Raw Peanut Noodles

Speaking of cooking (or un-cooking), I hope everyone caught Michael Pollan’s terrific piece in the Times Magazine yesterday on Julia Child and the rise of the Food Network. If you didn’t, please read it: among many other things, it’s a tribute to the value of cooking, rendered in Pollan’s characteristically intelligent prose. I find that, among my clients, one of the most decisive predictors of success with a healthier lifestyle is the development of enthusiasm for cooking. It never ceases to amaze me how many of my clients have been divorced from the process of preparing food for years or even decades; in spite of an active interest in healthy eating, and often a working knowledge of nutritious food, they’re accustomed to eating from boxes, mixes, bags, packages, and plastic squeeze bottles.

Unfortunately, the idea of cooking has often become entangled with rhetoric about women’s rights — the central argument being that cooking is a tedious, gender-biased, and oppressive activity for women of all occupations, and particularly for working mothers. I was raised by a hard-working single Mom, and I assure you all that no category of person ranks higher in my estimation.

Even so, the notion that cooking is disempowering strikes me as misleading. To be sure, it’s an added use of one’s time and energy. But isn’t the alternative — becomg divorced from a sense of what one is and isn’t putting in one’s own body — infinitely more disempowering? All too often, intelligent women simply trust in the integrity of brand names, when the makers of those brands have anything but their health interests in mind (for more on this, I recommend checking out Food, Inc.).

Preparing food from scratch — even if the recipes are quick and simple — gives us all an understanding of what’s in our food, where it comes from, and whether or not it is indeed health promoting. As a woman with two jobs and not a lot of time, I can say that the payoff of cooking and preparing food — in spite of the time it might cost me at the end of a long day — is always worth it. It’s true that I’m also the kind of person who finds cooking relaxing and enjoyable, but that is only one part of the reason I do it; having an intimate connection to what I’m putting in my body and how it’s made is the other part. Next time you find yourself loathe to wash and chop greens, or bake a piece of fish, try to shift your frame of mind: see cooking as an act of empowerment, rather than a burden.

And remember that the best recipes (at least in my mind) are simple, anyway!

Have a great start to the week.

xo

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Categories: Main Dishes
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, Raw

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    81 Comments
  1. Absolutely delicious! I didn’t have a lime on hand so I used the juice from half an orange, and it worked out really well. Also, I added black sesame seeds.

  2. I just posted this recipe on my blog to show everyone what a delicious and easy dish! I also posted it on my ig account @foodandkitchen. Congrats, this was delicious. I only changed one thing; i added less olive oil and added green beens. Delicious! Thanks!

  3. thankyou for sharing this recipe , my partner has a nut allergy and this will make his year !!!!!!!! thanks again

  4. This dish is AMAZING especially the sauce. I swapped out the zucchini with softened raw kelp noodles.

  5. Cooking is fun I’m a guy and I love to cook. It’s empowering to cook for yourself. Makes you feel independent.

  6. Darling! It’s an oldie but a goodie! I am using this in a Raw Food Basics Workshop on Sunday and giving the credit to you! Hope you don’t mind! xx

  7. I had to come all the way back to this post to say this might be the best dressing I have ever tasted!!
    My boyfriend made it for dinner last night, and geez, I couldn’t stop dipping my fork in it to get more and more.

  8. Dear Gena,

    I am a newborn, you could say, in the RAW/Vegan world. I have been devouring different books and websites, but I have to honestly say your blog has been BY FAR the most inspirational, information packed, AMAZING source of motivation I have been able to find throughout the past few months since I started my journey.
    Your recipes are to die for and your Philosophy matches exactly what I would like for myself.
    Thank you so very much and please do continue helping those like me who are just crossing to “the other side”
    By the way, I made this recipe tonight for my family and even though I prepared a MONSTER BOWL so I could keep seconds for my lunch tomorrow, the bowl was totally empty before I could blink! DELICIOUS.

  9. Hi Gena, Just wanted to let you know how much I’ve been enjoying this recipe. I use the dressing on everything. I really like it with steamed broccoli. And I know it’s not all raw, but it went really well as a dip for spring rolls made with the rice wrappers. Thank you!

  10. Hey Gena,

    I’m really loving the recipes on your blog! I really wanted to try this raw peanut noodles recipe and was wondering where you get your white miso from. Also how does that ingredient fit in the whole proper food combining picture?

    Thanks!

    • Esther,

      Any white miso is fine. I think I got mine at Whole Foods. And as long as you use it sparingly, consider it neutral.

      Gena

  11. love your musings Gena. While I am not a vegan nor live a raw lifestyle, I strongly believe in COOKING. I am proud to say that I rarely eat anything out of a package besides the occasional bar (as a result of being hangry) or canned beans. While my (now) husband takes care of certain things at home, I have fallen into place and HOME in the kitchen, preparing fresh REAL food. I only wish that everyone could recognize and appreciate the beauty of a meal prepared at home, with love, for those you love.

  12. I made these noodles tonight, and they were amazing. The meal was simple and easy, and had a wonderful flavor. I used a vegetable peeler to make the noodles, and they turned out great. Thanks for such a good recipe!

  13. I just made these for dinner, even though I wasn’t sure I’d like the sauce – it’s the kind of combo I don’t usually like – something about miso (oh and I left out the sesame oil). But it’s so yummy!!

    I restarted my raw quest today, and this hit the spot – thanks!!

    • BTW – I’m the only one eating this in my house – any idea how long the leftovers will last? I should have made like 1/4 batch! Ha.

  14. Mm… so true about the motivation behind cooking. I definitely went through this in college (not so much about food preparation but food in general) eating poorly was my rebellion against the more shallower aspects of what people deemed was “health” but were really American aesthetics. Now I feel like every time I have the privilege to decide what goes into my body I make choices that are empowering to my health, the environment, my ethics, etc and this is how I “stick it to the man!” 🙂 This has completely changed the way I feel about what and how I eat! Great post & yummy noodles!

  15. Gena, I’m so grateful that at 60-plus years I have become computer-literate enough to find you! I’m also a newbie rawfoodie, after leaning that way for many years. I so appreciate the time you put into the info in the TABS at the top. I’m putting your link on my blog (avocado meet zuchinni), which is my journal/journey into this exciting healthful new world. I am a colon cancer survivor of one year, so this is very very important to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your encouragement and knowledge!

  16. I read the article and found it quite interesting… then again much of what was said coincides with much of what was stated in Food Inc…

    I seriously <3 Michael Pollan!

  17. Hi, Gena –
    The peanut noodles look delicious! Thank you for posting the picture and the recipe. I have a couple of questions: what does 1 inch of ginger mean (hopefully this isn’t too remedial!) and also do you have a brand/model of spiralizer that you recommend?
    Thank you,
    Karen

  18. Oh, Gena, that dressing!!! I had it on my salad and my noodles and it even inspired me to make a soup!
    You´re so right. Knowing how to cook and what you upt in your body is so empowering. Thanks again for a great post!

  19. Fabulous post on (un)cooking. I agree completely. People often say to me, oh, I’d love to cook like you but I’m just too tired at the end of the day. I really think cooking needs to become a priority again! It can be a fun and completely rewarding way to spend time, it’s a shame it’s viewed as otherwise by so many these days.

  20. Another great simple recipe Gena. Thanks!

    Yes, I’m always so surprised when people can’t believe that I cook meals from scratch on a daily basis. It’s really not that time consuming, and time in the kitchen is so relaxing for me. It’s like down-time for me. Helps me de-stress. I never look at it as a burden, and I love eating my food prepared by my own hands with love. 🙂

  21. This is off topic, but I have to comment about the idea of “food porn.” I love it!!! Pictures of amazing raw food creations are so delicious to look at that I have to keep myself from licking the screen… almost. I was thinking what a subversive act that is in itself. We are so accustomed to “food porn” of the fast food or conventional variety, and it typically makes one crave unhealthy food by stimulating the appetite for fat, sugar, and chemicals. Raw food porn is maybe for food what dove beauty ads tried to be for fashion: natural is beautiful! It makes me so happy that I can look at these pictures and crave fresh vegetables and dips. It’s like a daily cognitive re-programming to supplement my physiological re-programming. When I think about raw food porn I also recall the PETA commercial that was rejected for being too racy, but that’s another story.
    On the topic of cooking:liberation, that has definitely been my experience. Preparing my own food, largely raw, gives me the sense of control I need with food and the joy of anticipating the dish, tweaking it, connecting with its origins, and so on. I never liked cooking much until I began uncooking. viva la rawvolution! haha.

  22. These look amazing! I still don’t have my own spiralizer (and our peeler seems to have gone missing), but I’ll chop all day for that recipe! Nut noodles are my favorite.

  23. I am ashamed to say I am one of those people who don’t cook. I have never had to- my father would cook whatever we wanted on demand. Do you have any suggestions or blog posts on how to start cooking/uncooking for yourself? Thanks!

  24. I’m always looking for Asian recipes and this looks delicious.

    But even more insightful was your take on cooking and its way of empowering yourself. I have always felt that way but never did form the words in my mind — you said it beautifully!

    There are certainly a fair share of career-minded women who often dismiss cooking regularly but have time for manicures and facials. It’s a matter of priority and there is nothing oppressive about cooking for one’s health and beauty.

  25. I love this dish, it looks exactly like what I’ve been craving lately. I really have to get a spiralizer so I can make some fancy noodles. I also read the Michael Pollan article, he is a pretty cool guy and I like what he had to say.

  26. i tried to “spiralize” with a peeler a couple days ago – it…didn’t go quite so well. 🙂

    but thank you for linking to that article – it’s a wonderful, wonderful read, and i couldn’t agree with your thoughts more!

  27. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your hectic schedule to read and comment on my post! I hope you didn’t feel obliged to read it and weren’t offended by it in any way (I always feel terrible referencing other bloggers when I’m not sure if they’re reading or not) and thank you for such a balanced and gracious reply. You truly are beautiful inside and out and that is something to be envious of ; ) I would love to visit NYC at some point, as the raw restaurants there look truly fabulous.

    Your thoughts on cooking are so accurate ~ often it’s the only way of taking time to nourish and cherish ourselves and I don’t believe in the times we live in now it’s oppressive in the least.

    Your recipes are so innovative and creative ~ I particularly love the raw desserts section (typical me!)

  28. Great thoughts here, Gena, as usual! I have so many of your posts bookmarked! I completely agree that cooking is actually a very empowering thing. Though I don’t cook on a large/fancy scale now, I enjoy my time in the kitchen and find it very therapeutic!

  29. I read that very article just a few minutes ago. It was quite thought-provoking, with all its astute observations about how backwards our cooking culture has become. I found especially fascinating his discussion of our paradoxical fascination with food TV in conjunction with our total lack of culinary prowess. Anyway, I agree that cooking is not a disempowering activity–in fact, I feel ahead of some of my peers because I am aware of what goes into my body.

  30. Hi Gena,
    I am new to the foodblogging world in terms of being a newer blogger but I have been reading your blog for awhile. As always, you are right on point!

    If it’s true that our bodies are built from that which we put in them, then doesn’t putting in good food just make good sense? And since we (should) all know that baggies and pouches made by big industry is generally full of garbage, fillers, additives, and preservatives… it necessitates something else, another way to get food: one must cook for oneself!

    I had been resisting this notion for most of my adult life but after having my daughter 2.5 yrs ago, which also coincided with the time I really got a handle on my own food intolerances, I have become much more adept in the kitchen and have a food blog to prove it! I would be honored if you would stop by; I have added you to my blogroll, of course 🙂

    Averie

  31. I have been craving peanuts lately like nobody’s business. I can’t wait to try this!

    Pollan’s article was wonderful, of course. I love cooking, but I’m not sure I would love it as much if my partner didn’t also love cooking with me. When all of the stereotypically “female” work falls on me it really upsets me (as it does when the “male” work falls on my significant other). Luckily we keep it balanced most of the time.

  32. I loved your comments on cooking. For me, there is nothing more relaxing or more wholesome. The closer I am to what I put in my body, the better I feel.

    I love how simple and delicious your meals look! I’m excited to try an eating style in which I can actually identify all the ingredients I am putting in my mouth 😉

    Anyway, love the dish. I will definitely be trying it!

  33. First of all, the salad looks awesome, and so refreshing. I’ll have to make that soon.

    As for the kitchen musings, I have a lot to say about that. As a feminist, I used to feel slightly awkward about my inclination toward domesticity, and I started to feel bad about it. Once I realized that I truly loved being in the kitchen creating things for myself and for my loved ones, I let go of the guilt and realized I was doing so because I truly enjoyed it, not because I felt it was my duty. My mother stopped cooking when I was 14 or so: mostly because I was a vegetarian who politely refused to eat her meals, and my dad got to a point where he would rather eat his own creations than the few variations of the one or two dishes my mother can make in her sleep. Being in the kitchen is like therapy for me: all of the current stressors in my life tend to be forgotten, and it’s the one place where I can relax. I may not do things the classical or precise way, but I enjoy creating things, tasting food, chopping vegetables, sauteeing, blending, whizzing, etc. It sounds silly to some people that something that is viewed as time consuming and daunting is relaxing to me, but it’s where I feel at ease.

    I have so many family members who can’t be bothered to cook meals, so they spend a ridiculous amount of money on processed foods, pre-cooked meats, frozen pastas, etc. I hate to reference Rachael Ray, because she annoys me slightly, but I do appreciate the fact that she’s shown America that you can make a balanced and tasty meal in 30 minutes, you just have to know your way around the kitchen. Oh, and be prepared to spend 45 minutes washing dishes at the end of the night, but that’s another story.

    Ever since I truly learned how to cook, I’ve felt a great sense of satisfaction knowing that I prepared my own meal and that I know exactly what went into my meals. While I still enjoy a good night out at a trusted restaurant, I feel much safer in my own kitchen.

    Anyway, sorry for the long comment! Thanks for the great post — I always love your musings. Have a great Monday! xo

  34. these look great! and i FINALLY tried banana soft serve–LOVE 🙂 i think cooking (or preparing) means different things to different people. since I love it and find it very enjoyable, i don’t think this at all… in fact I get stressed when i can’t!

  35. What delicious noodles! Once I get my new spiralizer, I will be making these…though I’m not sure I can wait!

    I find the kitchen to be such a relaxing place and cooking is my favorite thing to do. I don’t get why it seems disempowering to people.

  36. Thai peanut noodles used to be one of my all-time fave dishes. Can’t wait to give your healthy raw version a try. In fact, I think I’ll have it for dinner tonight — with, drumroll please, zukes + cukes from my garden!

  37. I couldn’t agree more with your take on meal preparation. I consider cooking all of my family’s meals a little gift I can give them each day. I take pride in the fact that I am giving them something delicious and healthy, and that somehow that tells them a little bit about how much I love them!

  38. YUM, that looks great. Like you, I love my salads…but sometimes I need an alternative…this is a perfect one! Would probably also be good over a bed of greens, if one still wanted some greens 🙂 Love your thoughts on food prep and empowerment, too. Well-stated! Thanks for the link to the article!

  39. Great recipe! I’ve been looking for a raw pad thai dish, this looks pretty close! 🙂 Can’t wait to try it out!

    Have a wonderful week, Gena!

  40. I love cooking! I’ve always thought of cooking and knowing how to prepare my own food as one of those things that you NEED to know to take care of yourself. You know, like doing your own laundry, or knowing how to write a check, or change a tire. If you don’t know how to cook, or at least assemble food, then you are going to be at the mercy of McDonald’s and Hamburger Helper for the rest of your life.

    Exhibit A: my boyfriend… who lives off of fast food and mac & cheese from a box. Gross. I don’t even think you cvan call that stuff food.

    And in terms fo the whole gender based division of labor thing: I learned how to cook from my dad, who was the self-taught chef in our family and an awesome stay-at-home dad while I was a baby. Take that, gender typing!!!

  41. You can be sure this is one of the first dressings I make as soon as my Vita-mix arrives! I am so glad I also invested in a spiralizer…I LOVE how it makes veggies into pasta!

    I’ve always enjoyed making my own food so that I know exactly what goes into my body, but I have to admit that it wasn’t until I started using your recipes that I really got excited about cooking again. My previous “cooking” meant grilling or baking plain chicken, steaming broccoli or doing something very exciting like throwing it into a wrap. Now I’ve discovered healthy ways of eating “pasta,” I am not afraid of eating nuts or almond butter, I love avocados and guacamole and I can actually eat hummus without feeling guilty!

    It’s blogs like yours that give people like me the courage and motivation to want to start cooking fun and healthy food again. Best of all – it really isn’t THAT time-consuming! 🙂

  42. Wow! How have I not been to your blog before now? Its fantastic. I’ve read up on your tabs and printed out a few recipes. Thank you SO MUCH! Have a fantastic day! I will definitely be back 🙂

  43. i love cooking and preparing my own food too. it makes me feel better about what i’m eating, knowing what’s going into body. and the best recipes really ARE simple! the peanut noodles look spectacular.

  44. The food looks delish. I’ve been craving peanut sauce for a few weeks, but not eating peanuts put a damper on that. I’ll have to give this a try.

    That article sent me down memory lane when the Food Network first started and I used to watch it when I got home from high school. I miss that format. They used to have a show called Cooking Live with Sara Moulton that was (for me) like what Julia Child must have been for his mother. I learned so much from her in an easy-going atmosphere. Not the frantic live shows of Emeril.

    I think cooking for yourself is so much more empowering and feministic (is that a word?) than take out, fast food, or making something from a box.

  45. Perhaps a little unsurprisingly (!) I agree with you on your musings. I find a great deal of empowerment in knowing that I can make something for myself and not have to rely on take out/eating out/ready made. I can take care of myself.
    Noodles look and sound great – I may have to seek out the chickpea miso gina (fitnessista) was blogging about recently to give these a go 🙂
    Have a great week!

  46. Hi Gena! I am new to the food blog world and I love your site – such an interesting, inspiring food philosophy. Since stumbling upon your site I’ve been trying to incorporate more and more raw foods into my diet…I don’t think I could ever be 100% raw, but I love that I am at least trying to consume more raw foods than I used to 🙂

    Your peanut noodles look amazing…I will have to try them soon….

    Is it okay with you if I add you to my blogroll?

  47. first off, those photos are gorgeous…and having tasted the sauce, i can only imagine just how amazing the dish tastes too!

    when i first went vegan, i was a pre-packaged/prepared foods consumer whore. then i realized it basically contradicted the entire reason i went vegan. since i grew up with a mom who cooked dinner most nights (and passed on her passion and knowledge to me), it didn’t take long for me to rediscover that love…i agree with you about the relaxing and comforting feeling that i get when chef-ing it up. i adore it. plus, like you, i think the relationship between my body and my food is so important, it motivates me to go the extra mile, even when im exhausted and gary null’s is right around the corner. 🙂 not that i don’t take advantage of the availability of already prepared foods on occasion…im only human after all! cant wait to read that article.

  48. that looks ridiculously yummy. I never ate cooked asian food, but I love the raw versions for some reason.

    Per the article, i do find it funny/sad that people spend hours watching the food network and top chef while eating take out and chips.

  49. I have to figure out how to get my silly spiralizer to work… for some reason mine just grates and doesn’t spiralizer! But that dish looks fabulous.

    I linked back to your “Just one bite” post in my most recent posting, FYI 🙂 It was a great one!

  50. Those noodles look absolutely delicious.

    I became interested in cooking right after I became interested in health and nutrition. They do go hand in hand! It never bothers me to spend the time cooking because I know the end result will be more satisfying and healthier than any box meal I could make. And I actually find it empowering to cook for others. People usually appreciate homemade meals so much!

  51. Gena, I don’t know how you do it but you manage to put things so eloquently, it amazes me!

    My older sister is a mom with a full time job and she’s obese…it’s really frustrating for me to watch her because she says she wants to be healthy but she isn’t willing to make the commitment to cooking healthy foods for herself. She just wants the convenience of boxes and bags. Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot I can but try and encourage her…which isn’t working too well these days.

    I personally love cooking and preparing my own food at the end of the day makes me feel happy and healthy. And this “peanut” sauce is definitely going into my recipe pile =)

  52. These noodles look amazing. And I bet they taste the best too.

    Nice thoughts on cooking (or uncooking) too. I wholehearted agree!

  53. A peanut sauce with nary a nut involved! Amazing! And at the top of the to-make list. Anything I can eat with chopsticks gets priority.

    I certainly find the preparation of my own meals very empowering. I’ll admit it, I feel a certain sense of superiority over the coworkers dashing around for random take-out at lunch time–I come to the office with breakfast AND lunch prepared, sparing me both time and money during the workday itself. As a result, I eat healthier and have time for random things outside the office like, I dunno, juice with a friend in Union Square. 🙂

  54. I totally agree with your thoughts on cooking…
    and I used to be a much more complicated eater and cooker (complicated, meaning…lots of steps from ing to meal)

    and I am learning to enjoy much simpler meals!

    great post, as always.

  55. great idea with the raw noodles + sauce! i love peanut sauces and cold noodle salads and this looks really good. now i just need a spiralizer…

    thanks for the article link! i hadn’t seen that yet.

  56. I am totally going to quote you on this! I love how you’ve put it… I never used to like cooking, but since I’ve learned about food and health it has become a source of empowerment for me.

  57. You got me hooked on those noodles at Pure; and now that I FINALLY KNOW how to use a Spiralizer, I cannot wait to try this recipe!! Thank you much.

    I’ve always found that notion about cooking very misleading as well – I LOVE cooking and being in the kitchen, so I don’t see what’s so “disempowering” about it all. People just need to chill, hahaha 😉

  58. I love your thoughts on cooking and the process behind it. I love knowing what goes in my food. Cooking for me is also a way for me to spend time with people in my life. For example, my fiance and I cook our dinners a lot together- so it gives us a chance to spend time together in the kitchen and catch up on our day. The whole process – the food and act is something I really enjoy…not to mention – knowing exactly what is going in my body is a huge plus.

    Thanks for yet another great recipe Gena!