Fresh Noodle Salad with Warm Sweet Soy Dressing

 

I’m not going to call this an Asian noodle salad because you would be right to slap my dirty little mouth. The only thing Asian about is the Thai rice noodles and the dressing. So I’m calling this my “I’m having a bad hair day and refuse to go out for groceries” salad. It’s so easy and you literally just cram it with as much fresh vegetables as you can and munch away happily. If you stop chewing for a minute and listen really hard, you might be able to hear your organs thanking you for the vegie hit.

You can serve this with some crunchy toasted cashews or peanuts if you like…but again, I’m having a bad hair day and refuse to go out for groceries…

Ingredients

• 1 packet of Thai Rice Noodles
• 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 1/2 cucumber, deseeded, cut into batons
• 1/2 cup button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/3 cup red capsicum, sliced thinly
• 1/3 cup yellow capsicum, sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup mesclun leaves
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 cup sweet soy sauce
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp minced garlic or 1 garlic clove, chopped finely
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

Method

1. Soak the noodles in boiling water for approximately 3 minutes or until they have softened.
2. Combine carrot, cucumber, mushrooms, capsicums and salad leaves in a bowl.
3. Heat a wok with sesame oil and add soy sauce, hoisin sauce, fish sauce and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring to avoid garlic burning.
4. Add the noodles to the wok and stir to coat with the sauce. Cook for 1-2 minutes until they’ve absorbed the flavours.
5. Remove noodles with tongs and set aside. You should have some remaining liquid in the wok.
6. Cook the remaining sauce in the wok for a further 5 minutes until it has slightly reduced. Remove off the heat and add vinegar.
7. Compile your salad and spoon over the warm dressing.