Miso Udon Stir-fry with Greens & Beans

Wow! This dish tastes about 10 times better than it looks. With a little Sriracha and salt on top, it's creamy and salty and spicy... perfect!

I bought a few kinds of different kinds of beans the other week just to have on hand. One of those was a bean I hadn't heard of before: azuki beans. So when I was flipping through my new cookbook, Appetite for Reduction, I flagged this recipe as the first one to make because of it's use of this fun new ingredient.

I couldn't find brown rice udon noodles as suggested in the recipe so I bought some brown rice spaghetti. But I had some regular pre-cooked udon packages in my refrigerator so when it came time to put this together I decided to use those.

I realize now that I forgot to add the sesame seeds. Oh well, I do bet they would have been great on this but it was really tasty all the same.

Miso Udon Stir-fry with Greens and Beans Serves 4 1 pound broccoli, stems sliced thinly, tops cut into florets 8 ounces brown rice udon noodles 1 teaspoon olive oil 6 cloves of garlic, minced 1 bunch Swiss chard (about ½ pound), coarse stems removed, chopped roughly 1 cup thinly sliced green onions, plus extra for garnish 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 (16-ounce) can azuki beans, drained and rinsed 1/3 cup miso 1/2 cup hot water 4 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds Sriracha hot sauce, to serve

Prepare a pot of salted water for cooking the noodles.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. First saute the broccoli with a bit of nonstick cooking spray and a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes. Cover the pan and flip once or twice. The broccoli should be browned in some spots. Add a splash of water at the end, then cover for another minute. The pan should be steaming. Remove broccoli from the pan and set aside.

At this point, the water should be boiling. Use a mug to remove ½ cup of water; you can use that to mix into your miso in a few steps. Then cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain when ready.

Now we'll put everything together. Preheat the large pan again, over medium heat. Saute the garlic in the oil for about a minute, until fragrant. Add the chard, green onion, and salt, and saute for about 5 minutes, until wilted. Add the beans and let heat through.

In the meantime, in a mug or measuring cup, mix together the miso and warm pasta water until relatively smooth.

Add the drained noodles to the pan, along with the miso mixture and broccoli. Saute for about 2 minutes, using a pasta spoon, making sure everythin is nice and coated. Taste for salt. To serve, to with sesame seeds and green onions and keep the Sriracha close at hand.

No Croutons Required March bogging event theme is "aduki beans or mung beans" and it is being hosted by Lisa's Kitchen. View the roundup here.