Shrimp and Shitake Soba

 

Sometimes life comes together out of pure intention and desire, with no extra effort needed.  Last year I was really wanting a new challenge, to learn new things and to be involved in something inspiring.  I tried applying to a bunch of internships and such, but none of them worked out.  Then one day, I was attending a very inspiring conference put on by an organization that I've always been impressed by.  At the end of the event, I was chatting with one of the board members of this organization and she asked me if I wanted to apply to be on the board.  My answer was an easy, "yes!" So  I applied, and then a week later was accepted to serve on this amazing board.  It was so easy and surprising.  I felt like I had been handed exactly what I was looking for.  Sometimes cooking is like this too.  This week I was imagining making a soba noodle dish with shitake mushrooms and thought shrimp would be perfect for this dish.  To my luck, Whole Foods was having a sale on shrimp, so it was all meant to be.  When I got home from the store, I only had 30 minutes to make and eat dinner before meeting a friend.  So I quickly sliced, and sauteed and stirred and didn't think too much about what I was doing, and the dish turned out perfectly.  Seriously people, this meal took me 20 minutes to make, start to finish.  This is a great dish to make when you're crunched for time, but want something fresh and flavorful.  If you can't find the 100% buckwheat noodles, you could use pad thai rice noodles.  You could also substitute tofu cubes or sliced chicken breast for the shrimp, and bok choy for the spinach, and carrots for the red pepper.  But don't think too hard about it, just follow your instincts and enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 package of 100% buckwheat noodles (make sure there is no wheat in them!)
• 1 cup of shitake mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 10-12 raw shrimp
• 1 bunch of baby spinach, washed
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into sticks
• olive oil and sesame oil 
• wheat free soy sauce
• sesame seeds

Directions

1. Boil water for soba noodles and cook for about 8 minutes.  Rinse and drain well.
2. Meanwhile, sautee the shitake mushrooms, with olive and sesame oil, in a pan on medium-high heat.
3. When the mushrooms begin to wilt and soften, add the garlic and shrimp.
4. Finally, add the spinach and red peppers on top.
5. Pour a little soy sauce on the noodles, shrimp and veggies,  mix together.
6. Garnish with black sesame seeds!