Spicy Veggie and Rice Stick Noodle Stir-fry

Jeremy and I spent the last week in Puerto Rico on vacation.  We had an amazing time and ate a lot of great food.  There will definitely be some Puerto Rican posts coming.  But in the meantime, we are sooooo happy to be back home eating our own food.  We ate a lot more meat than we normally do -- and a lot more food than we normally do.  Tonight it was nice to have a healthy veggie stir-fry.

You could use any mix of veggies you wanted in this.  I used rice stick noodles that I bought at my local grocery store.  You could certainly substitute other types of noodles or even rice -- whatever you have available.  You could add meat if you wanted.  Just stir-fry that before you start the veggies.

I changed up the sauce by using a higher proportion of fish sauce and adding turmeric and coriander.  The turmeric adds a lovely yellow color and the coriander adds a nice fresh taste (coriander is the seed that grows into cilantro...).  The fish sauce adds a salty taste.  If you don't want the dish spicy, cut back or eliminate the crushed red pepper flake and sriracha.

This recipe made about 3.5 servings.  Jeremy and I each had a bowl full of veggies and noodles and we have quite a bit left still.  (The picture below is what's left after we had eaten our fill.)  All-in-all this was a delicious homecoming.  As much as I love eating out at restaurants and trying new food on vacation, it's really nice to get home and start eating my own healthy food again.  :)

Recipe:
2 carrots, sliced thinly
2 celery stalks, sliced thinly
1 green bell pepper, sliced into quarters, then sliced thinly
1 onion, sliced thinly
3.3 oz. rice stick noodles (1/2 of the package -- I bought it at my local grocery store)
1 15 oz. can of baby corn, drained and chopped into thirds
1 8 oz. can of diced water chestnuts, drained
2 tbs. of fish sauce
1 tbs. of lower sodium soy sauce
2 tsp. sriracha
2 tsp. rice vinegar
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tbs. light brown sugar
1/4 c. water
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 tbs. vegetable oil
1 tbs. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1. Place the rice stick noodles in a large bowl.  Cover with hot water and allow to sit for approximately 10 minutes until soft.  Drain and chop into 2"-3" pieces.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the fish sauce, soy sauce, sriracha, rice vinegar, turmeric, coriander, brown sugar, water, and cornstarch.  Set aside until step 4.
3. Heat a wok over high heat.  Add vegetable oil.  Add garlic and crushed red pepper flake and stir until fragrant and sizzling (20-30 seconds -- being careful not to burn the garlic).  Add the green bell pepper, celery, carrots, and onions.  Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until beginning to soften.  Add the baby corn and water chestnuts. Stir fry for another 2-3 minutes until veggies are tender.
4. Add the noodles to the stir fry and stir to combine.  Add the sauce and toss the stir-fry together until the sauce has thickened a little and the veggies and noodles are coated in the sauce.
5. Serve and enjoy.