Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce
Salad recipe courtesy of Mary Nolan
Sauce adapted from Pinch of Yum
Peanut Sauce (makes 2 cups):
Note: In the video I made this quantity of sauce so that I could have extra sauce on-hand for extra meals but it can easily be halved (or doubled :)
1 cup smooth peanut butter
2/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup agave syrup or sugar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons sambal oelek or chili paste
1 (2-inch piece) fresh ginger, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Place all sauce ingredients in a food processor or blender. Turn on and slowly add 1/4-1/3 cup warm water and mix until smooth (you want the sauce to be the consistency of maple syrup--thin but coats the back of a spoon). Set aside until ready to assemble salad. Refrigerate any unused sauce up to 2 weeks.
For noodles and salad:
Note: In the video I made 2 servings with the following quantities. This can easily be multiplied to serve more.
6 oz ramen noodles (that's usually 2 "pieces")
1 cup cooked chicken, shredded into bite-size pieces
1 cup chopped lettuce
1/2 cup purple cabbage
1 small cucumber, diced
1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks
3 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
2 tablespoons thinly sliced red onion (eyeball it and you can sub for scallions too)
2 tablespoons Mary's classic vinaigrette (look for recipe on my YouTube page)
3 tablespoons roughly chopped roasted peanuts
Optional: fresh mint, if you have it on hand
Cook ramen according to package directions, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Drain noodles and return to pan. Add 1/2-3/4 cup peanut sauce and a few tablespoons of reserved water. Stir to evenly coat noodles, adding more water if necessary so that noodles don't seem gloppy. Divide noodles between 2 bowls. Top with chicken. Mix lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, carrot, cilantro and onion with vinaigrette in a separate bowl. Divide and pile on top of chicken. Garnish with peanuts and mint, if desired.
