Rice Noodle Salad

Rice Noodle Salad. image: Essy Roz

Rice Noodle Salad. image: Essy Roz

The sunny winter days spoil us all.
The edges of the days are frizzing,
But noon is full of warm, caressing and good sun.

At this time,
In which several schedules run in our house simultaneously,
I like to prepare light and indulgent meals for lunch.
Such that anyone can just put together a satisfying and good bite at a time that’s convenient for them.

This salad was born for a light and quick lunch that everyone builds for themselves in an instant.
I prepare the noodles in advance,
Next to them I prepare a large and varied vegetable platter,
And an insane sauce that unites everything.

In a moment of hunger,
Anyone can come up to the salad station,
And build themselves a satisfying and good bite.

A light mixing of the rice noodles, fresh vegetables and the light sauce that unites everything,
Create a wonderful and satisfying lunch plate in an instant,
One that’s fun to enjoy in the wonderful sun,
One that’ll not burden the rest of our day.

Of course, you can upgrade the dish with a protein supplement of tofu slices or chicken breast,
Everything is up to you 🙂
And that’s all the magic,
Minimum work,
Maximum freshness,
Huge fun that’s suitable for all members of the family,
at any time of the day.

Huge fun that blends in wonderfully with the weather and the many schedules of all the house members 🙂

May we all have nutritious, delicious, happy and exciting sunny days ahead 🙂

Rice Noodle Salad. image: Essy Roz

Rice Noodle Salad. image: Essy Roz

Rice Noodle Salad. image: Essy Roz

Rice Noodle Salad

Ingredients: suitable for 4-5 dishes. The vegetables are subject to your choice and your personal taste of course 🙂

• 1 pack thin / wide rice noodles
• 1 carrot
• 1 cucumber 
• A handful of mint / coriander leaves
• 2 green onions / red onions
• Red / yellow bell pepper
• Optional additions: cherry tomato halves / kohlrabi / beets / cabbage / chopped celery stalk – anything you like

For the dressing: an amount suitable for the whole salad

• 2 crushed garlic cloves / 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 tablespoons date honey / teriyaki sauce
• ⅓ cup soy sauce
• 0.8” (2cm) grated ginger root / 1 tablespoon of dried ginger powder 
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil

For decoration & crunch:

• 4 tablespoons roasted black / white sesame or peanuts

Protein addition if you like to add one: 

• Tofu slices sautéed in a pan
• Slices of chicken breast sautéed in a pan with a little oil and salt

Steps:

1. Cut the vegetables into thin slices. I like to cut them into thin sticks that go perfectly with the noodles.
2. Put the vegetable slices in a large bowl so that everyone can choose what to add to their salad.
3. In a large bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients and set aside. The longer the prepared sauce waits on the side, the more its flavors will combine and be wonderful.
4. The rice noodles can be prepared in two ways: one is to boil water in a pot, just like pasta, and boil them for a few minutes. The second method is to soak the noodles in a bowl of boiling water. You have to change the boiling water 3 times until the noodles are soft and ready to eat. Please note: soak in very boiling water from a kettle (water from a water dispenser isn’t hot enough). When the noodles are ready, drain them well from liquid, add 2 tablespoons of oil and mix. I like to use olive oil, but you can use any other oil. Set the noodles aside in a covered bowl.
5. The assemble step: at the time when the hunger starts to tickle, take a bowl and put a portion of noodles in it, choose any of the cut vegetables, add a few spoons of the wonderful sauce, some sesame or peanuts for the crunchiness and mix well. If you decide to add a protein supplement, add strips of it now.

Transfer to a serving plate,
Sit down in a nice sunny place and gobble 🙂

A little extra from me:

• The disassembled salad can be kept in the fridge for 2 days. I recommend renewing the vegetables every day.
• The rice noodles can be heated with a little boiling water.
• The salad dressing can be kept in the fridge in a sealed jar for 3-4 days.

The vegetables, cut into slices. image: Essy Roz

The vegetable slices and the rice noodles. image: Essy Roz

The dressing is ready. image: Essy Roz

Assembling the salad. image: Essy Roz

Rice Noodle Salad. image: Essy Roz

Rice Noodle Salad. image: Essy Roz