Cold Korean Inspired Noodle Salad with Creamy Dressing

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Jul 1

In my little town of Ojai, we have a fabulous restaurant called Rory’s Place, a fine dining experience and next door is Rory’s Other Place, with more casual fair. Every Friday night they have been doing a fun, casual pop-up and one night my new friend Euni, a wonderful chef and farmer, who’s expertise is Korean food, featured her delicious creations. One of them was a beautiful cold, spicy noodle salad topped with small slices of nectarines and cucumbers. It was incredibly refreshing on that warm evening. Euni’s noodle dish inspired me to create this version. I used a gluten-free rice noodle and folded nectarine and cucumber pieces into the salad instead of on top and decided to pull back on the heat and created a mild creamy dressing using almond butter. The fresh mint and Thai basil added depth of flavor and the radishes some more crunch. I loved her idea of the nectarine as they add a little touch of sweet. Be courageous and try another stone fruit, Maybe a plum, apricot or pluot! The secret ingredient in the dressing by the way is chili crunch, I used two teaspoons but if you want a little more kick, feel free to add more.This salad can be made ahead for a summer picnic, brunch or early dinner.

Makes 4-6 Servings/ Preparation Time 15 minutes/ Cook Time 10 Minutes

Gather

For the salad

8 ounces (227 grams) rice noodles

2 Romanian cucumbers, peeled, seeded and cut into desired, small bite size cubes

2 radishes, diced finely

3-4 scallions, sliced, white parts and then first 1/3 of green part

1 nectarine, firm but ripe, cut into desired small bite size pieces

6-8 Thai basil leaves, finely sliced

6-8 fresh mint leaves, finely sliced

For the dressing

2 teaspoons chili crunch (Crispy Ho is seed oil free)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon almond butter

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 teaspoons coconut aminos

1 tablespoon Tamari (gluten-free)

1 tablespoon sesame seeds (black sesame seeds add a pop of color if you can find them)

Sprouts and edible flowers for garnish

Make

Prepare you veggies according to the gather list. Boil water and cook the noodles, making sure not to over cook them. Strain and dump the noodles into a bowl of ice, allowing them to cool. Strain the noodles again and place them into a medium mixing bowl. Add the cucumbers, radishes, scallions, nectarine, basil and mint leaves and stir till incorporated. Add all the dressing ingredients into a small mixing bowl and using a whisk, mix all the ingredients until you have a smooth creamy dressing. Pour the dressing over the noodles and then mix the dressing into the noodles until well combined. Fold in the sesame seeds and mix well. Transfer to a serving bowl if eating immediately and garnish with sprouts and flowers. Will store in the fridge for 4 days.