Chinese Noodle Salad W/ Roasted Eggplant *
appetizers, chinese, ethnic, healthy, salads
1 the noodles & the marinade
7 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoon sugar; or more to taste
2 1/2 teaspoon red pepper oil
8 scallions; mostly white part,
1 ; thinly sliced
3 tablespoon cilantro; chopped
14 oz chinese noodles
1 =20
1 the eggplant & the v egetable garni; sh
1 lb japenese eggplant
1 tablespoon ginger root; 1 1/2 oz. peeled &
1 ; minced
1 centiliter garlic; finely chopped
1 reserved marinade, from above
4 oz snow peas; strings removed, cut
1 ; in narrow strips
1/2 lb mung bean sprouts
3 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 carrot; medium size, cut in
1 ; jullienne
1 cilantro leaves; for garnish
making the marinade. Combine all the ingredients (except the noodl= es) in a bowl, stir them together until the sugar is dissolved. Next, bring= a large pot of water to a boil for the noodles. While it is heating, gentl= y pull apart the strands of no odles with your fingers, loosening and fluffing them as you do so. Add the = noodles to the boiling water without any salt, and give them a quick stir w= ith a fork or a pair of chopsticks. Cook briefly until they are done but no= t overly soft, a few minutes a t most. Immediately pour them into a colander and rinse them in cold water = to stop the cooking. Shake the colander vigorously to get rid of as much wa= ter as possible, and put the noodles into a bowl. Stir the marinade again; then pour half of it over the noodles and toss the= m with your hands to distribute the marinade. Set the remaining marinade as= ide. If the noodles aren't to be used for a while, cover them with plastic = and refrigerate them. The flav ors, as well as the heat in the red pepper oil, will develop as the noodles= sit. Preheat the oven to 400=B0F. Pierce the eggplants in several places and bak= e them until they are soft and their skins have shriveled, about 20 minutes= , depending on their size. Turn them over after 10 minutes so they will bak= e evenly. When the eggplants are done, remove them to a cutting board and slice them in half lengthwise. Wh= en they are cool enough to handle, peel the skin away from the flesh. Don't= worry about any small pieces of skin that are difficult to remove - the fl= ecks of dark purple - brown ar e pretty. Shred the eggplants, gently tearing them into 1/4 - inch strips. = Add the ginger and garlic to the reserved marinade, then the eggplant strip= s. Turn the pieces over several times to make sure all the surfaces are wel= l coated, and set them aside. Bring a quart of water to a boil with a teaspoon of salt. Blanch the snow p= eas until they are bright green; then remove them with a strainer and rinse= them in cool water. Cut them into long, narrow strips and set them aside. = Next, put the sprouts in the w ater and cook them for about 30 seconds. Pour them into a colander, rinse t= hem with cold water, and lay them on a clean kitchen towel to dry. Roast the sesame seeds in a pan until they are lightly colored and smell to= asty. If the noodles have been refrigerated, allow them to come to room temperatu= re; then toss them with the eggplant strips and half the sesame seeds. Moun= d them on a platter, distribute the carrots, snow peas, and mung bean sprou= ts over the noodles, and garni
Yield: 6 servings
Preparation Time: Green