Udon Noodles with Toasted Black Sesame Seed, Seitan, and Vegetables (No Added Fat)

My daughter picked out a recipe from Ruby Roth's The Help Yourself Cookbook for Kids, soba noodles with toasted sesame seeds. I didn't have soba but did have udon noodles on hand, and made a simple dish inspired by her recipe by:

• boiling udon noodles for 8m,
• sauteeing over low heat for 3-4 minutes or so black sesame seeds on a dry cast iron pan (being careful not to burn the seeds), and
• using a small Saladmaster stock pan to cook waterlessly (I covered the pan and heated it on medium high until the vapor release started jiggling, then I reduced the heat to low till the jiggle stopped) for about 15m onion, broccoli, and seitan.

I drained the noodles and rinsed them with cold water, then returned them to the pan and mixed in some coconut aminos (or soy sauce). I served, topped with toasted sesame seeds and the vegetable-seitan mix.

Results

Dinner came out surprisingly well! I wanted to have a flavorful broth for the noodles and wish I had had more time to come up with some sort of broth, but the noodles themselves were tasty, further enhanced by the coconut aminos.

Ideas for the future

I should cook more often with udon noodles; I don't think that I've used them for about 4 years. The heirloom wheat in these (I used Koyo brand organic udon noodles) gave this particular brand of noodles a nice, rich flavor. It seems like it hasn't been since late 2009 that I have cooked with soba noodles and, though I don't think I liked them as much, I should try again.