5 Ingredient Asian Noodles

Here's a QUICK and simple meal where all the ingredients come from one store...Trader Joe's! There is no chopping of veggies involved, so everything comes together very fast with little mess and no clean-up.  I'm going to compare it to as close as you can get to chow mein without adding powdered mixes or making your own sauce with lots of weird things like fish sauce/oyster sauce.  My kids love eating at fast-food Chinese places solely for this dish, and it drives me crazy to see how enthusiastically they dig into those heavy and unhealthy noodles. This pacifies their craving and they call it "fake chow mein". The irony that it's more "real" food than the fast-food version is lost on them, but oh well.  The crunch of the brocolli slaw and carrots is just like what you'd get from the restaurant version, and leaving the veggies mainly raw retains their nutrients and saves preparation time.

I've had a hard time finding teriyaki sauce that does not include alcohol, so I was thrilled when I read the list of ingredients on the Trader Joe's version of teriyaki, called "Soyaki". I ALWAYS have a jar of this ready to be used, and I've tried it in many recipes with great success. Here is my children's favorite way to enjoy it, with plain noodles. I'm going to be honest with you, the kids like this dish prepared simply as only noodles and sauce, without the veggies. But being who I am, I'm always shoving healthy stuff wherever I can so when I've got the broccoli slaw, it goes in. And when I don't...well, the kids don't complain ;)

The exact moment I knew I needed to make my own noodles
 (these are from a local Chinese restaurant)

Tips for success:
Feel free to leave out the veggies for a 3 ingredient dish, or add your favorite protein to the noodles. Chicken and shrimp are my favorites but tofu and steak would also work great. I also frequently use whole wheat spaghetti with great results. Hot sauce or crushed red pepper flakes really elevate the flavor!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
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-1 pound spaghetti noodles (cooked al dente according to package instructions).
-2 tablespoons sesame oil
-12 ounce package Trader Joe's broccoli slaw
-10 ounce bag of shredded carrots
-1 1/2 cups Trader Joe's Soyaki sauce (3/4 of the jar)

To make
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-Boil a pot of salted water. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions, al dente  (usually around 9-11 minutes on my stove). The pasta will cook for an additional few minutes later on when you add the sauce.
-Once the pasta has cooked, drain in a strainer. Do not rinse.
-In the same pot you boiled the pasta, heat the sesame oil and add the broccoli slaw, carrots, boiled spaghetti and Soyaki sauce. Cook the mixture for about 3-5 minutes, until the noodles have absorbed the sauce.
-Remove from heat and serve.
-Enjoy!

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