August 23, 2009 by Kokotaru
Filed under Japanese, Salad & Vegetable
Making this noodle requires quite a number of ingredients, however, the cooking method is very simple. It is quick to make this kind of noodle salad and you’ll get a very healthy meal.
This noodle is refreshing with the juiciness and crunchiness of bell peppers. The flavours of lemon grass, lemon juice and cilantro are strong with the mild sour taste. At first bite, it turned a bit sour for my taste, but the more I ate, the more I liked the taste.
Since I knew the ‘secrets’ to make a good pasta dish, I have tried quite a number of pasta recipes to gain more experience with one of the most typical themes of Italian cuisine. I am an easy eater and open to new dishes and new tastes. So I do not hesitate to try new things.
Since I understood some principles of preparing a pasta dish, I am always motivated to read more about pasta and possible ingredients to go with it. This time, this vegeroni pasta with baked veggies has been included in my favorite list. If you have some familiarity with the food I share in this blog, you will see that I really like veggies and I will not be happy to finish a meal without something ‘veggie’. I am not a vegetarian, but that has been a habit for a long time. Maybe it was due to my family’s tradition since the old time. When I was with my parents, there was hardly a meal without a vegetable dish of some kind, though it might be very simple as a boiled vegetable or boiled tofu dish.
That’s the reason why I fell in love with this pasta dish for the first time trying it. Baked vegetables always show their special fragrance and outstanding taste to me. I knew that I followed the recipe on the package of the vegeroni pasta. However, I cannot recall where I put away the recipe, or I mistakenly lost it. So, the recipe I wrote below was based on what I remember. I could not tell exactly how many teaspoons or tablespoons of the salt, pepper or herbs, but you know your taste, and with your experience in the kitchen, you may know how much is enough.
Hope you will like the pasta, as I did.
This is one of my favorite dishes with the combination of vegetables and tofu. Bell peppers are rich in vitamins and very juicy, while tofu provides protein. There is a saying in Vietnamese which means that tofu is the meat in the garden. Therefore, tofu to vegetarians is as important as meat to non-vegetarians.
I am not a vegetarian, but I like eating veggie. I don’t like the type of vegetarian dishes that use tofu or veggie to do some ‘mock’ meat dishes. I just like having the veggie and tofu as they way they are physically, not something like ‘mock’ chicken thighs made with tofu, etc.
