Recipe: Asian Noodle Salad

Seeing as how I’ve been getting plenty of fruits and vegetables from my local CSA, I have been trying to work up meals that will use everything up in time for the next bin.  That’s not as much of a problem this week as since I am going out of town, I had to cancel my incoming bin.  And I know I will have some carryover produce for the beginning of next week.  That’s fine.

But it has introduced me to a lot of new dishes and new foods to prepare.  And, with the help of Delight Gluten-Free Magazine, I prepared one of their featured recipes – a Chilled Asian Noodle Salad.  I tweaked the recipe only slightly (I left out the apple), but the rest of it was all used.  And my vegetable crisper drawer saw a lot of use today as I readied the ingredients and mixed everything together.

Without further adieu…this gluten-free/vegan recipe…

Recipe: Asian Noodle Salad

Servings: 4-6
Time: Prep 15 minutes; Cook 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 package rice noodles (I used A Taste of Thai)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon hot chili oil
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons gluten-free Tamari soy sauce (I used San-J)
• 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter (I used Peanut Butter & Co.)
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and julienned (thinly sliced)
• 1 carrot, peeled, and julienned
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup bok choy, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup unsalted peanuts, rough chopped for garnish

Directions:

Bring water to a boil in a large pot.

Cook rice noodles as directed on package.  Rinse noodles with cold water, drain well, and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together sesame oil, chili oil, rice wine vinegar, gluten-free Tamari soy sauce and peanut butter until well combined.

Add noodles, all vegetables, and cilantro to a large bowl.  Toss to combine.

Pour the dressing over the noodle salad, and toss gently with tongs to mix well. Garnish with the chopped peanuts and serve immediately, or after refrigeration if desired.

~*~*~

The most difficult part of this was tossing it, to be honest.  I had all the noodles on the bottom, all the veggies on top, and then the sauce over it…and my largest bowl just wasn’t large enough.  But…I managed.  And in the end, I was left with a fantastic, flavorful noodle dish that was perfect for dinner!  All the flavors worked.  And, as I mentioned, the original recipe called for a Granny Smith Apple to be peeled and julienned as well, but I didn’t have one on hand and the salad didn’t lack anything minus the apple.

Love Asian flavors and food?  I highly recommend this dish!