For a richer dressing, add half a cup of coconut milk and a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter to the dressing.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　8 ounces wide rice noodles

　　

Dressing

1/4 cup lime juice

　　1/4 cup vegetable oil

　　2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

　　1 teaspoon Chinese chili paste, or to taste

　　1/4 cup chopped fresh basil and/or cilantro

　　1/2 teaspoon salt

　　1 cucumber

　　1 carrot

　　4 scallions

　　4 ounces seasoned tofu

　　Toasted peanuts

　　

Step 1

Bring a large covered pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the noodles, rinse with cold water, and drain again.

　　

Step 2

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients. (For a smoother dressing, purée in a blender.) Prepare the vegetables and tofu and add them to the bowl with the dressing: Peel, halve, and seed the cucumber, and then cut the halves into 1/4 inch-thick crescents. Peel the carrot and cut it into matchsticks. Slice the scallions on the diagonal. Cut the tofu into matchsticks. Add the noodles to the bowl and toss well. Serve at room temperature, sprinkled with peanuts.

　　

Serving & menu ideas

Step 3

Change the menu with the seasons: Serve with cool, crunchy Pan-Asian Slaw (page 212) in the summer and with savory Indonesian Sweet Potato & Cabbage Soup (page 122) when it’s cold outside.

　　From Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers: Fresh Ideas for the Weeknight Table. Copyright © 2017 by Moosewood Collective. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC. Buy the full book from ThriftBooks or Amazon.