On Carrot Miso Noodles and Long Runs

Fifteen years ago, I lived for a short period in Germany, in a terribly boring town near the Dutch border.

What I remember most are the vast open spaces and endless long runs through cool, green landscapes that just invited you to swallow more and more miles.

I think during my German period, I ran more than 150 km a week, simply because the scenery was so inviting to run in its embrace.

When I wasn't running, we would travel to Amsterdam. There was an Asian restaurant there that served several wonderful vegan dishes.

One of them was Soba noodles with carrot miso.

A simple dish, yet it feels sophisticated thanks to its wonderful sauce.

An orange-tinted, very creamy sauce that pairs perfectly with the noodles and the soybeans that garnish the dish on top.

I remember researching every possible way to find the sauce recipe, even mobilizing all the broken German/Dutch I knew (believe me, it was broken).

But eventually, I managed to find the recipe, and I'm bringing it here to you.

 

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A post shared by Haggai Leffler Vegan Athlete (@haggai_leffler) on Oct 11, 2018 at 3:17am PDT

A bit about the recipe

In this recipe, I used noodles made from black beans that I bought at the supermarket, which contain a high amount of protein and are gluten-free.

You can use any noodles you like, and in my opinion, even rice would pair great with this sauce.

For the sauce itself, I used dark miso to get a deeper, more dramatic shade. If you want a lighter tone, use white miso.

I used light tahini (not whole) to avoid darkening the sauce completely, but raw whole-grain tahini can also be used.

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How to serve?

A serving of Noodles in Carrot Miso Sauce can be a wonderful solution for a post-workout dinner or as a festive, protein-rich lunch.

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Nutritional values by nutritionist and fitness trainer Noam Bechar

One serving of noodles with sauce out of 4 contains:

395 kcal

28g carbohydrates

30g protein

18g fat (of which 3g is saturated fat)

Want another high-protein dish? Click here

Print

Noodles in Carrot Miso Sauce

Prep time 10 minutes

Cook time 3 minutes

Total time 13 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

• 250 g carrots about 4 small-medium carrots
• 1/2 cup dark miso paste about 4 tablespoons
• 1/4 cup raw tahini light (not whole) - 40g
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 350 g dark bean noodles or any legume-based noodles you like
• 1/4 cup cooked soybeans - edamame 40g
• 1/2 cup water

Instructions

1. Prepare the sauce
2. Peel and grate the carrots using a grater
   
3. Add the grated carrots, miso, tahini, vinegar, ginger, and water to a blender and blend until a smooth, homogeneous sauce is formed
   
4. Cook the noodles according to the manufacturer's instructions
5. Transfer the noodles and sauce to a deep bowl, and top with the soybeans
6. Serve with a bit of grated carrot on top

Notes

If you want an even lighter sauce:

Replace the orange carrots with white ones, use white tahini, and light miso.