Friday, November 30, 2012

SHRIMP AND SOBA NOODLE SALAD



Eeeeek!!!!!  A rat!  Seriously y’all.  I sit every morning with a cup of coffee and my littlest kitty, Sweet Pea.  She likes to sit behind me on the back of the chair, nuzzle my hair and look out the window while I read.  This morning she spotted something out the window…a rat!  Sweet Pea and I ran from window to window to watch where it was going.  What is a rat doing out in the day?  They usually only come out at night, when I don’t see them and I can choose to pretend that they don’t exist.  YUCK!
We live on a canal, so when you live on water you have rats.  It doesn’t matter if you live in a shack or a palace, the rats don’t discriminate.  One of the homes we used to live at the fence ran right to the water line; we would have dinner parties, and everyone would watch the rats run back and forth along the fence.  Needless to say an invitation to the Lindsay’s for dinner was a hot ticket!

Speaking of dinner...are ya hungry now?  This salad is a refreshing break from all the heavy and rich dishes of Thanksgiving.  It’s crisp, light, low in fat and oh so tasty!  I also made this salad with fried tofu, for a completely vegan meal.  I'll show you how to make that later.

Here’s what you do.




This is what is needed for the dressing.









Slice the Serrano quite thin. 

I only used half of the Serrano pepper. If you like it really spicy then add the whole thing.  If Serrano peppers are unavailable, then use a jalapeno.






Whisk the lime juice, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, and canola oil together,
and then add the Serrano pepper.










I used my peeler to make strips of carrots, and then cut the carrot strips in half.






 Julienne is a fancy cooking term which means to cut into match sticks.



Now that you know what julienne means, do it to the cucumber and red bell pepper. 
Slice the radishes nice and thin.

Give some cashews a rough chop.

Grab a handful of bean sprouts.







Cook an 8 oz. box of Soba noodles according to the package directions.









When the noodles have cooked, drain them and rinse them with cold water.  

Toss the noodles with about 2 tablespoons of the dressing.









Season the peeled and deveined shrimp with salt and pepper.  

Sauté the shrimp in a tablespoon of canola oil over medium high heat for about 2 minutes on each side, or until the shrimp is opaque.








Put the lettuce around the perimeter of a bowl or platter.  Pile the noodles in the center of the lettuce.








Arrange the shrimp and the vegetables over the noodles.  Pour over a little of the dressing and sprinkle with chopped cashews and cilantro.






Serve the remaining dressing on the side.


Serves 4

3              Tbsp.     Fresh lime juice
6              Tbsp.     Rice vinegar
3              Tbsp.     Honey
¾             tsp.      Sesame oil
3              Tbsp.     Canola oil, divided
½                         Serrano pepper, thinly sliced (jalapeno can be substituted)
1-8           oz.         Box of soba noodles
1               lb.         Medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
                            Salt and pepper
6              cups       Romaine lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces
1              cup         Carrots, julienned
1              cup         Cucumber, julienned
1              cup         Red bell pepper, julienned
1/3           cup         Radishes, thinly sliced
1              cup         Bean sprouts    
1/3           cup         Cashews, roughly chopped
¼             cup         Cilantro, roughly chopped

1.        Make the dressing.  In a medium bowl whisk together the lime juice, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil and 2 Tbsp. of the canola oil.  Add the Serrano pepper to the dressing and set to the side.
2.       Cook the soba noodles according to the package directions.  When the noodles are cooked, drain and rinse them with cold water.
3.       Toss about 2 tablespoons of the dressing with the noodles and set them to the side.
4.       Season the shrimp with salt and pepper.
5.       Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the shrimp to the pan and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, until the shrimp is opaque.
6.       Spread the lettuce around the perimeter of a large bowl or platter.
7.       Pile the soba noodles in the center of the platter. 
8.       Arrange the vegetables and cooked shrimp in an attractive manner over the noodles.
9.       Pour a little of the dressing over the vegetables and shrimp, and sprinkle the cashews and cilantro.  

 Serve the remaining dressing on the side.


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1 comment:

  1. Ugh I HATE rats :( But living in NYC I see a ton... so gross. But! This salad looks super delish! Love soba noodles.

    ReplyDelete