Cold Noodle Salad

By wing118677

Ingredients

• choose one, 2-3 tbsp, divided—finely chop whichever you choose:
• For the Noodles
• 1 pkg noodles, cooked according to the directions on the label
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp good olive oil
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1/2-1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2-1 tsp rice wine vinegar
• Allium
• Chinese chives
• garlic scapes
• spring onion
• chives
• garlic
• Crunchy
• a few handfuls total, a mixture of two or three:
• green beans, royal burgundy beans, etc.
• kirby or Persian cucumbers
• sweet bell pepper
• asparagus
• snap peas
• green papaya or mango
• hakurei turnips
• Meaty
• choose one, 1-2 cups:
• mushrooms (any of these is great): button, shiitake, cremini, king trumpet
• poached or sautéed fish flaked into pieces, such as salmon or mackerel
• poached or sautéed shredded chicken
• cubed and roasted tofu
• cooked chickpeas
• Spicy or pickled
• choose two, 2 tbsp (unless you like spicy, then add more)—very thinly sliced
• pickled shallots, onions, peppers, radishes, carrots, summer squash, ginger, cornichons, etc.*
• sriracha
• jalapeño, very thinly sliced or chopped
• spicy Japanese yuzu condiment
• Fresh herbs for garnish
• choose two, 1 small handful per serving:
• cilantro
• mint
• parsley
• basil
• Store-bought pickle variations work great in a pinch. However, if you make your own pickles, here’s a delicious and fun place to incorporate them.

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from anthologymag.com

Preparation

Step 1

Cook the pasta and drain. Transfer noodles to a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Use tongs to turn pasta, ensuring all strands get a light coat of oil. Once the noodles have cooled enough to touch, add the fish sauce, soy sauce, and lime juice, and use your hands to gently separate any remaining clumps. Taste and adjust soy (salty), vinegar (tangy), or fish sauce (savory) to suit your taste. Refrigerate at least a half hour, up to overnight. If you refrigerate overnight, cover in cellophane.

For whichever crunchy elements you chose, chop them. If you chose cucumber as one of your veg, peel the skin if it is tough, or if the cucumber isn’t organic. If you were lucky enough to score kirbys or Persian cukes, their seeds are small and you can leave them intact. Otherwise, scrape seeds out with a spoon.

Chop the beans into thin cross-sections—little bursts of assertive crunch! I got royal burgundy beans a local farmer friend grew. Basically if you can find any snap-fresh bean, then you won’t need to cook them. Ask if you can taste one: It shouldn’t be fibrous or tough to chew.

Choose an allium—a little goes a long way. Chop it finely and reserve a little for table-side garnishing.

Trim mushroom stems and halve or quarter any larger ones. Sauté mushrooms in a little olive oil, on medium-high heat in a cast-iron or enameled skillet until tender—about 5 minutes—adding a small amount of water (or broth, should you have some on hand) to keep them juicy. Transfer cooked mushrooms to a bowl and toss together with all the above chopped elements once mushrooms have cooled a bit.

On a mandoline, shave jalapeño or ginger (etc.), and add to the mix. If you have pickled veg, chop them as you did the beans and add them in. I sometimes add a little of the brine liquid for added punch. It’s up to you.

To serve, transfer noodles to a serving platter. I created little piles by coiling the noodles around my hand. Do what fits you in the moment. Scatter the crunchy-peppery-meaty mixture onto the piles, leaving a little extra aside for serving. Additional chopped allium is nice table side, too.

With a final flourish, add the fresh herbs to top. Enjoy!