This is a bomb of umami! In other words: pure delicious! You may never order in again…or at least not for a while.
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Cold Noodle & Vegetable Salad with Sesame-Soy Dressing
Ingredients
Cold Noodle Salad
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 pound fresh snow peas, trimmed and stringed
- 18 ounces thin fresh linguine noodles (such as Contadina brand linguine)
- Salt
- 2 tablespoons Asian dark sesame oil, from toasted seeds
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- ¾ pound shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps thinly sliced
- ½ pound cultivated cremini (brown) or white mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
- ½ pound sunflower sprouts (also called sun sprouts, or substitute regular mung bean sprouts)
- 1 ½ cup thinly sliced green onion (1 large bunch with tender tops included)
- Sesame-Soy Dressing, recipe follows
Sesame-Soy Dressing
- ¼ cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
- ½ cup cup soy sauce, preferably tamari
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons Asian dark sesame oil, from toasted seeds
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed through a press
- 1 tablespoon honey or sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup canola oil
Instructions
Cold Noodle Salad
- In a small skillet over medium-low heat, toast the sesame seeds, stirring them often, until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the skillet and cool. The seeds can be toasted up to 3 days ahead. Store airtight, at room temperature.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 2 tablespoons salt. Add the snow peas and cook, stirring once or twice, until crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the snow peas to a bowl of iced water. Cool completely, then drain immediately and pat dry. The snow peas can be prepared several hours in advance. Cover and hold at room temperature.
- Meanwhile, return the same pot of water to a boil and add another tablespoon of salt. Add the noodles, partially cover and cook according to package directions. Drain, rinse thoroughly with cold water, and drain again. In a large bowl, toss the noodles with the sesame oil. The noodles can be prepared several hours in advance. Cover and hold at room temperature
- In a large skillet over high heat, warm the canola oil. Add the shiitake and cremini mushrooms with ½ teaspoon of salt and cook, tossing and stirring occasionally, until barely tender, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the mushrooms to the bowl with the noodles.
- Just before serving, add the snow peas to the bowl with the noodles and mushrooms. Re-whisk the dressing and pour it over the salad. Toss well. Add the sprouts, green onion and 2 tablespoons of the sesame seeds and toss again. Turn the salad out onto a deep serving platter. Sprinkle the remaining seeds over the salad and serve immediately.
Sesame-Soy Dressing
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients except for the canola oil. When everything is combined, slowly drizzle in the canola oil while whisking, so the dressing does not separate.