Budget Cooking...Comfort & Gourmet!

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Sunday, August 8, 2010

Asian Inspired Noodle Salad



I was inspired to do this recipe after having watched Ina Garten on one of the Cooking Channels. I tweaked this by using whole grain pasta and omitting the peanut butter.




INGREDIENTS

Salad
1 pkg of whole grain spaghetti
1 Red Bell Pepper
14 oz Snap Peas, (fresh blanched would be best, but I used frozen. You could even used french cut green beans)
* optional 1 lb of prepared grilled chicken cut into bite sized pieces

Dressing

3 fresh Garlic Cloves chopped
1 knob of fresh Ginger Root (about the size of a quarter) peeled & chopped
2 tbsp Honey
6 oz. Rice Vinegar
2 oz. Soy Sauce
10 oz Vegetable Oil
1 tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
*optional
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
(We have a child with a peanut allergy, so I did not use peanut butter for the family. I did however add about a tsp to my personal portion which I ate in a different room. YUM!)

Garnish

1 bunch of Scallions (thinly sliced)
1 tbsp Sesame Seeds (toasted)

Please add the dressing just before serving. This cannot keep overnight, as the acidity of the dressing would break down the noodles.


DIRECTIONS

1. Boil Noodles.
I used my pressure cooker. I boiled salted water for about 7 minutes. When it was boiling, I added my pasta. It only took me 3 minutes to cook the noodles.
Remove from water. Set aside. Chill in the refrigerator.

2. Wash and core red bell pepper. Chop and set aside.

3. Blanch fresh Snap Peas or thaw frozen Snap Peas. Drain in colander.
Chop into bite sized pieces.

4. Chop Garlic Cloves. Set Aside.

5. Peel and chop Ginger Root. Set Aside.

6. Build Dressing. Start with the garlic and ginger root. Next add honey and vinegar.
* If using peanut butter add it next. Whisk in oils. Chill in refrigerator.
You may have to whisk again before adding to salad.

7. In a large bowl, add cold spaghetti, chopped pepper, chopped snap peas, cubed chicken. Toss.

8. Add dressing.

9. Add garnish. Mix well.

Enjoy




Rice Vinegar with Chopped Garlic and Ginger Root

Add Soy Sauce


Add Toasted Sesame Oil (Be sure to refrigerate this. It goes rancid quickly)










6 comments:

Unknown said...

This looks very delicious and easy to make.

1xellus1 said...

@ Hell Notes for Beauty...Yes, it was super easy to make. Perfect for warmer days when you just don't feel like blazing up the kitchen or standing over the stove.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.

justme said...

this looks really good. i dont have the stuff for the dressing so i will have to price the items for next week. i have been wanting some snap peas since seeing them on mississippi mulatto's website. i have 2 requests for you please since the budget was so helpful. can you tell me how you organize all your kitchen stuff? do you put away infrequently used serving items? i had another question but i forgot.

is it easy to peel the ginger root? when i see things i have never tried, i automatically get intimidated and i know i shouldnt because i am missing out on expanding my cooking

1xellus1 said...

@ justme...Thanks so much for taking the time to visit & comment. I always love feedback! I need to ck out mississippi mulatto's website! Thanks for sharing.
Our pots are hanging from a pot rack. Although I would love another one! I need to invest in a lid rack. Most of my kitchen tools are stored in two different Tool Turn Abouts. It's a kitchen caddy that spins. I prefer to have my stuff hidden, but that is not a possibility right now. I don't want my stuff in a "junkyard/graveyard drawer" stuff falls behind the draw to be lost forever like so many single socks. There are a few items I keep in ziplock freezer bags in the drawer.
There is an inoperable d/w in our kitchen mounted under the counter. We keep large serving dishes as well as large pampered chef kitchen stones in there. I wish I could use them, but our wall oven is dead.
The underside of a bakers rack is where we store infrequenlty used appliances. I could inbox you pics, as my kitchen is JACKED & I wouldn't want the entire free world to see them. LOL Is the gmail address still good? Plz let me know. Thanx.

I use a sharp paring knife for peeling the outer skin from ginger, it isn't hard to do @ all. It's very thin. There are somex when I just wash the skin & leave it on (like for my stirfry). I use a food chopper in that instance. HTH

Soul_Sunshine said...

Question, can this dressing be served hot or does it have to be cold?

1xellus1 said...

@ Ms.D...Thanks for taking the time to visit & comment. I served mine cold. I hadn't considered serving it hot. That's a great question. I suppose one could heat the sauce. I would probably scale back on some of the vegetable oil if I served it that way though. :O)