Teriyaki Noodle Bowls

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 inches fresh ginger, grated
• pinch red pepper flakes, optional
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 lb. frozen stir fry vegetables
• 8 oz. buckwheat soba noodles
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Directions

1. Start with a bowl for the sauce. Pour in the soy sauce and rice vinegar, then add the brown sugar. Stir in the toasted sesame oil and red pepper flakes. Add the corn starch and water. Peel the ginger, then grate it right over the bowl with the small-holed side of a cheese grater. No grater? Mince the ginger instead. Mince the garlic, add it too, and stir everything together.
2. Set a medium pot of water over high heat and let it boil. Add the noodles and cook them in the boiling water for 5-6 minutes, until tender. Pour the noodles into a colander to drain.
3. Set a large skillet over medium-high heat and warm the vegetable oil. When the pan is good and hot, tip in the frozen vegetables. Stir them around for about 2 minutes, just long enough to take off the chill. Give the teriyaki sauce a quick stir, then add it to the skillet. Let the sauce simmer; as it does, it will tighten up. The vegetables finish warming while the sauce thickens. When it is both hot and thick, pull the pan from the burner.
4. Put the noodles, now drained, into the skillet and toss until the sauce covers them. Portion the noodles into 4 bowls, then scoop any vegetables still in the skillet over the tops.