Peanut Noodle Salad

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Today was a wee bit warmer than normal around these parts. Way too hot to be cooking anything, so I threw together a Soba Noodle Salad. I was inspired by one from 101 Cookbooks and made some adjustments for taste and what I had on hand. It is currently a little after 7pm and our place is still pretty darn warm. I am typing sitting on the floor with the laptop on my ottoman and the fan blowing full speed at me. It's too hot to sit in a chair at the moment and my poor little computer is feeling a bit overheated. Thanks for chugging along with me Lappy. Anyway, here's my version of the salad. Normally I would give you way more pics but the last thing I wanted to be doing was taking the time to arrange and snap the shots. I just wanted this salad to be done and ready to eat.


Peanut Noodle Salad

1 8 ounce package soba noodles
1 handful snow peas, ends trimmed

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
optional splash of sesame oil (I left it out because I suspect I have a slight food intolerance to sesame)
1/4-1/2 cup hot water

1 small bunch of spring onions or scallions, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup peanuts


Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the soba noodles per package instructions.In the last 30 seconds of cooking toss in the peas. The point is to blanch them so that they are slightly tender but still crisp. Drain noodles and peas, run under cold water for about a minute to stop cooking, and set aside.

Make the peanut dressing by whisking the peanut butter, rice vinegar, garlic, red pepper flakes, and a big pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Thin with hot water to the consistency of yogurt - the amount you'll need depends on the original consistency of your peanut butter. Taste and season with a bit more salt if needed.

Gently toss the noodles, snow peas, spring onions, carrots, and peanuts with a big splash of the dressing. Add more dressing a bit at a time, until the salad is dressed to your liking, reserving any extra for another use. Taste, sprinkle with more salt if needed.