Recipe: Thai Noodle Salad, Soba with Broccoli and Wasabi, Udon or Soba Lo-Mein Noodles

As promised last night on the chat line, here is a recipe for a Thai Noodle Salad and a few other items I found when I finally had time to look:
Thai Noodle Salad - Serves 6
1 lb. soba or udon noodles, prepared according to package or
1 lb. linguine (easier to find)
Sauce:
3 T. minced fresh basil
1/4 c. minced fresh spearmint
8 oz. coconut milk (unsweetened)
2 T. dark sesame oil
1 T. grated peeled fresh ginger
1 T. minced garlic
3/4 tsp. salt
2 T. fresh lime or lemon juice
1/8 tsp. cayenne (or to taste)
2 T. minced scallions
Vegetables:
Choose any of the following to equal 4 cups:
small carrots, julienned 1" long
asparagus spears, cut into 1-1/2" lengths
red bell peppers, cut into 2" strips
snow peas, cut in half
green peas or snap peas
mung bean sprouts, blanched and chilled
scallions, cut into 1" diagonal pieces
sliced water chestnuts
Garnish:
lime wedges, roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
minced fresh cilantro leaves

Procedure:
Cook the pasta or udon/soba noodles according to directions.
While the linguine is cooking, make the sauce. In a bowl, combine
all the sauce ingredients and mix well.
Any combination of vegetables is fine: let color and contrasting textures be your guide. Prepare the vegetables as follows and set aside in a separate bowl. Drop carrots into boiling water and cook until barely tender. Do the same with asparagus. Blanch peppers, peas and mung bean sprouts; plunge immediately into cold water and drain. Add scallions and water chestnuts to the other vegetables and set the bowl aside to cool.
Combine the noodles, vegetabless and sauce. Refrigerate until cool, then serve at once. If you must refrigerate the salad longer, keep in mind that noodles absorb flavor like crazy and so you'll need to readjust the seasonings before serving. Thai Noodle Salad will keep for about 2 days.
Each diner should have a wedge or two of lime to squeeze on top just before serving. Pass the peanuts and the cilantro.

Soba with Broccoli & Wasabi
1 bunch broccoli, stalks peeled and cut into sm. pieces
8 oz. soba (buckwheat noodles)
1 tsp. wasabi powder
1-3/4 c. vegetable stock
3 T. mirin or pale dry sherry
3 t. tamari soy sauce
2 scallions, very thinly sliced
Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil. Drop in the broccoli, cover the pot, cook 5 minutes or until the broccoli is tender but still bright green. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Let the water return to a rapid boil. Drop in the soba and cook until tender, about 10 min.
Mix the wasabi and 1 tsp. water together in a sm. dish (the resulting paste should have the consistency of smooth mustard; add a few more drops of water if necessary. Let sit 10 minutes to develop the flavor.
While the soba is cooking, combine the stock, mirin or sherry, and tamari in a med. saucepan and bring to a boil.
Drain the soba in a colander. Divide between 2 large bowls or 4 med. bowls. Place equal amounts of broccoli on top of each bowlful. Pour boiling stock into each bowl. Sprinkle on scallions. Serve with wasabi paste at the table, to spoon on as desired.
Udon or Soba Lo-Mein Noodles
Yield: 6 servings
1 pkg. udon or soba noodles
2 T. toasted sesame oil
1 pkg. shiitake mushrooms, resusitated
1 med. carrot, cut into matchstick
1 med. onion, sliced
2 c. chinese cabbage, bok choy or mustard greens, finely chopped
3 T. shoyu sauce or soy sauce
2 T. grated ginger
1/4 c. almonds, sliced
Cook pasta according to directions. Rinse, drain and mix with 1 T. sesame oil. Set aside. Reserve shiitake soaking liquid, discard stems and slice tops. Heat remaining oil, saute onion, add carrots, shiitakes and soaking liquid, simmer for 5 min. Add pasta and top with greensssss. Add shoyu or soy and ginger. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add almonds.
6 g. fat, 207 calories for 1 serving
I hope this helps you out. Enjoy!!