When I was in Thailand a couple of years ago, there were so many cool noodle dishes that were a hell of a lot more than just Pad Thai – don’t get me wrong, I had my delicious fair share of Pad Thai cause it was amazing there. But I saw a lot of cool things being made on the street – many of which I couldn’t eat, but still inspired me! A noodle dish that I did eat in Bangkok had Romaine lettuce and at first the idea of wilted lettuce is disgusting, but when you see them make it in a super hot wok over high flame – it’s anything BUT disgusting! The integrity of the lettuce was still there and complimented the veggies and noodles perfectly! I discovered that my local favorite Thai spot in Midtown East has a Bangkok Style noodle dish that has Romaine and it is nearly as good as the one I had in Thailand!

So as I always do, I used the inspiration from my travels to create a healthier, vegan & protein-packed version of the Bangkok Noodles using Gotham Greens super tender Romaine. It’s so good and takes less than 15 minutes to prepare!!

Bangkok Street Noodles with Romain:

• 2 handfuls of bean noodles – I used edamame and adzuki red bean noodles
• 1/2 large white onion – thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic – thinly sliced
• 1 inch fresh knob ginger – peeled and minced
• 1/4 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts – roughly chopped
• 2-3 dried red chilies – broken in half
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes – sliced in half
• 2 handfuls of Romaine – about half a Gotham Greens box of romaine – broken in half
• 2-3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• salt
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1-2 tsp toasted sesame seed oil

1. Boil the noodle according to package in a large pot – boil under al dente (you don’t want them to be mushy). Strain the pot and spray the noodles with a bit of cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a large non-stick skillet or wok, place over high flame. Pour in vegetable and sesame oils. Once hot, add in the broken chilies and peanuts. Then the sliced onions, garlic, and ginger. Add a bit of salt. Sauté all of this for a good 5 minutes – you want the onions to start sweating and slightly caramelizing. Once softened, add in the Romaine and continue sautéing. After the lettuce is slightly wilted, add in the tomatoes and continue sautéing – this all happens fairly quickly!

3. Now add in the cooked noodles – making sure to break them up so they don’t clump together! Sauté into the veggies – if you find that it is clumping up, add 1-2 tbsp of water. After about 1-2 minutes of sautéing the noodles, add in the soy sauce and toss. Taste and see if the dish has enough salt and is balanced.

4. Serve immediately over a bed of fresh romaine and top with chopped peanuts. Enjoy!