Wasabi Chinese Noodle Salad

Why have a cup of noodles when you can do so much better with a fresh ingredients? This is a quick, low calorie vegetarian meal with a popping wasabi flavor that will keep your chopsticks digging for more. This is also not going to break the budget either provided you have most of the ingredients available in your pantry.

Wasabi is something I associate with my visits overseas and sushi. I don’t typically eat sushi so it is not a flavor I would consider to cook with. I love horseradish, but my recipes that include that are also limited. Enter the thoughtful folks at Cooking Light that provided the basis of this recipe a few years ago in their magazine and I have adopted with a twist here or there. If you don’t like horseradish, stop reading here or just skip that ingredient and it will still be good.

Edamame or green soybeans is an ingredient I have never tried but have been taunting me to try them every time I reach for the snow peas at the local grocery store. I popped one out of the container and gave it a taste. Wow that was a big surprise as I was expecting something like a regular green pea but this was much better. Not only tasty they are a good source of protein and other nutritional value. Another great ingredient to incorporate into future recipes.

The recipe is as simple as it sounds and delicious. The noodles absorb the wasabi vinegar and oil incorporating the flavor into each bit of the noodle. While the flavor is great, the combination of the carrots, edamame and radishes provide a wonderful textured crunch with great color in the dish for an added bonus. So put the cup of noodles away and get something healthier and more flavorful. Your body will appreciate the taste, smell and healthy benefits.

RECIPE

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, minced
10 oz Chinese curly noodles, uncooked
8 oz snow peas, trimmed and halved crosswise
6 oz shredded carrots
5 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 Tablespoons wasabi paste
1 1/2 cup shelled green soybeans (edamame)
1/3 cup green onions (scallions), sliced
1 cup thinly sliced radishes

Instructions

Prepare garlic and set aside in a dish.

Using a large pot cook the pasta according to package directions (usually boiling 3-4 minutes), omitting salt and any other additions. Drain and rinse under cold water; drain well.

Prepare a bowl with ice water. Steam edamame (if they have been pre-boiled ready to eat skip this step), snow peas, and carrots 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and plunge vegetables into the ice water; drain.

Combine the garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and wasabi in a large bowl stirring until well blended with a whisk. Add the pasta, vegetable mixture, green onions and edamame (if not in mixture) and radishes; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.

Servings: 6

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes

Notes:

Edamame can be found as I did fresh and ready to eat at Whole Foods but you might be restricted to finding only frozen product. If that is the case then you will want to steam it.

The noodle can really be anything. Our package said Chinese noodles and resemble the kind you find in those noodle styrofoam cup with peas and carrots in them made for starving college students.

Modified from Cooking Light