It was my turn to cook dinner today and I wanted to serve guacamole with nachos (that will most likely be my next post). I recently got back from a trip to Goa, armed with a car full of local produce. You can expect a lot of recipes involving pineapple, avocado and bananas now. I reach home only to find that the avocados are still raw.
So this dish is something I threw together based on what I had in my pantry at the time (see cooking notes for potential ingredients). I love cold noodle salads on hot summer days. As weird as it sounds, its actually quite refreshing in the heat. I did however jazz it up with some dried shitake mushrooms, which I also bought from Goa. I know its weird, but Goa has the most kickass international food store.
I can write a book on shitake mushrooms. Its my all time favourite mushroom variety. Both the fresh and dried versions are fairly expensive, but their taste is irreplaceable. I'd recommend buying dried instead of fresh mushrooms, firstly because its cheaper and more intense in flavour, but also because it can keep for years. So it is a good investment! And it is completely optional in this dish.
The best thing I love about this dish is the contrasting flavours. You get the heat of chilli balanced with the sweetness of pineapples. And the mint is just a breath of fresh air.
Serves 4:
1 pack or 200gms rice noodles. I used vermicelli
1 cup bell peppers, seeds removed and thinly sliced or cubed
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup pineapple, peeled, cored and cubed
1/4 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1/4 cup chopped shitake mushrooms (optional)*
For the dressing:
2tbsp dark soy
1tbsp light soy
(use 3 tbsp soy sauce incase you have only one variety)
1tbsp sugar
1tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp chilli flakes or schezwan sauce
Salt to taste
In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles till al dente. In the same pot of while the noodles are cooking, add the bell peppers in a strainer spoon, and cook for 2 minutes. We want the veggies to cook but still have a bite to them. Drain noodles and veggies when done and immerse in another bowl filled with cold or ice water.
In a large bowl whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Add in the noodles, pineapples, bell peppers, mushroom and bean sprouts. Toss to coat all ingredients with the dressing. Serve in bowls, topped with chopped up peanuts.
Note: The salad can be made up to a day in advance and refrigerated. However, the pineapple must be added just before serving. If you are using vermicelli like me, the salad must be consumed within an hour or two of cooking
Tip: You can sub pineapples for mangoes or even use both.While I have made a veggie salad, you can easily create a non-veg variant. Chicken goes beautifully with pineapple. You can also add a tablespoon of fish sauce to the dressing, it makes such a difference!
You can also experiment with various noodles. My suggestion would be soba noodles as its best when served cold. You can also try angel hair pasta, pad thai noodles or even your regular egg noodles.
*I used dried shitake mushrooms. To use dried mushrooms, you need to soak them in hot water. Remove the stem and soak them in pipping hot water till soft. However soaking them overnight (if you have the time) does wonders. The soaking liquid works well as a stock for other recipes.
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