Thai Noodle Salad

We had this smooth-yet-zesty cold noodle salad with some grilled beef and Maple Blossom-Mint Pesto the other night for dinner.  There’s nothing like a sunny spring day to make you forget winter and its soups and stews and charge headlong into warm weather and lighter fare.

 

Adding the carrot and cucumber while the noodles are still hot lightly pickles them in the dressing, but their crunch remains to give this salad wonderful texture.

Thai Noodle Salad

Yield:  4 large servings

Rice Noodles	7 oz	200 g
Fish Sauce	¼ C	60 ml
Sugar	2-3 T	30-45 ml
Fresh Lime Juice	¼ C	60 ml
Lime Zest	1 lime
Garlic, minced	1 clove
Chili Sauce	½ t
Sesame Oil	2 t	10 ml
Cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and thinly sliced	¾ C	180 ml
Carrot, julienned or shredded	½ C	125 ml
Green Onions, thinly sliced on the bias	4

oz=ounce      g=grams       C=Cup       ml=millilitres        TT=to taste

Cover the noodles with boiling water and soak for 20 minutes.

While the noodles soak, mix together the fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, zest, garlic and chilli sauce.  Stir well until the sugar dissolves.

Drain the noodles, and toss with sesame oil.  Add the cucumber, carrot and half of the fish sauce dressing, and mix well.  After 10 minutes, add the remainder of the dressing and the green onion.  Cover and chill until ready to serve.