This dish has proven a big hit in my home. You can get all the ingredients in the Asian foods section of any well-stocked supermarket or natural foods store.

　　

Ingredients

6 servings

　　12 ounces Asian noodles (see Note)

　　1 tablespoon light olive oil

　　4 to 6 garlic cloves, minced

　　One 14-to 15-ounce can light coconut milk

　　One 20-ounce can crushed pineapple, lightly drained

　　1/2 teaspoon Thai red or green curry paste, or to taste, dissolved in a little warm water

　　1 stalk lemongrass, cut into thirds and bruised with a knife, optional

　　Juice of 1/2 to 1 lime

　　2 tablespoons natural granulated sugar

　　1 teaspoon salt

　　6 to 8 scallions, sliced

　　1/4 to 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro

　　Peanut halves or crushed peanuts

　　

Step 1

Cook the noodles in plenty of rapidly simmering water until al dente, then drain.

　　

Step 2

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a stir-fry pan. Add the garlic and sauté over low heat until golden. Add the coconut milk and pineapple, then whisk in the curry paste. Add the lemongrass, lime juice to taste, sugar, and salt.

　　

Step 3

Add the cooked noodles to the coconut mixture, along with half the scallions and cilantro to taste. Remove from the heat. If you’d like a spicier dish, stir in small amounts of additional curry paste (dissolved in a little water) until the effect is as spicy as you’d like. Serve at once, passing around the remaining scallions and the peanuts for topping.

　　

Menu Suggestions

Step 4

Pair this easy recipe with a basic protein dish. Good choices are BBQ-Flavored Skillet Tofu (page 62), Cornmeal-Crusted Seitan (page 63), and Tempeh Fries with Horseradish or Wasabi-Dill Mayonnaise (page 78). Add a platter of grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced bell peppers, baby corn, and carrots.

　　

nutrition information

Step 5

Calories: 308

　　

Step 6

Total Fat: 9g

　　

Step 7

Protein: 9g

　　

Step 8

Carbohydrates: 52g

　　

Step 9

Fiber: 4g

　　

Step 10

Sodium: 510mg

　　Cooks' Note

　　This is most authentic with wide flat rice noodles, but no matter how carefully I cook them, they fall apart in the dish. Instead, I use whole-grain soba noodles. Any long, thin noodle will work, though, and this is also good with whole wheat spaghettini.

　　Reprinted with permission from Vegan Express: Featuring 160 Recipes for Quick, Delicious, and Healthy Meals by Nava Atlas. Copyright © 2008 by Nava Atlas. Excerpted by permission of Broadway, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.Nava Atlas is the author of nine cookbooks, including The Vegetarian Family Cookbook, The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet, and Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons. She lives in the Hudson Valley region of New York with her husband and two teenage sons (all vegans).