Sasha's Kitchen: Vegan Coconut Curried Noodle Salad

I'm not vegan, or even vegetarian, but I appreciate vegan and vegetarian cooking, and am always enjoy cooking with fresh fruits and vegetables as center stage.  Plus, it is such a healthy way to eat, so it is totally smart for any carnivore like myself to mix some vegan and/or vegetarian meals into the weekly meal rotation.  My friend Shannon was visiting from Toronto recently, and gave me the book La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer as a present to try some new vegan experimentation in the kitchen (although she's not vegan either, she vouched for the excellent cookbook).  When she was still visiting last weekend, we tried the cold coconut curried sesame noodles, and discovered they taste good either hot or cold. The recipe was not too difficult and delicious, either as a side dish, appetizer or a main course. I love the coconut flavor with the noodles, and it was boatloads better than traditional sesame noodles.

Coconut Curried Noodles Salad (from La Dolce Vegan)
dry broad rice noodles (full package or box, enough for four servings)
1/2 cup shallots, diced (I substituted onions)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T sesame oil
2 T curry paste
2T tamari (you can use soy sauce)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt (I used 1/2 tsp)
1 13.5 oz can light coconut milk
1/2 cup fresh basil (I used parsley instead)
1 large tomato, chopped (we added two instead when I made it with Shannon because one was lonely)

Boil the rice noodles in salted water. While the noodles cook, dice the tomatoes and onions/shallots. Cook the shallots in canola oil until translucent, about three minutes.  Add the curry paste, soy sauce, turmeric, salt and coconut milk and simmer on hight for six to eight minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the basil (I used parsley) and tomatoes. Drain the noodles and mix with the sauce. This dish tastes great either hot or cold.