I must say that I am just smitten by Asian flavors.  It seems the older I get, the more I adore them.  It is fresh, it is a lot of flavor profiles that I really enjoy, it is fascinating to see the focus on a balance of sweet, salty, sour and spicy.   So I really wanted to continue experimenting with the flavors in the Asian profile.

Tonight for dinner I experimented with a Thai inspired cold noodle salad.  Now I am not Thai - and I do not own a Thai cook book, but I looked at several recipes claiming to be Thai and came up with a noodle salad to try tonight.

I really hesitated with the tomatoes and brown sugar, but for me, they were good.  The dressing is so simple, the brown sugar dissolves without needing to be heated, and it is very bite-y (if that’s a word).  I really enjoyed this salad, Jason picked thru and ate the veggies only.  It seems he is not so enamoured with cold noodles and cilantro.  Oh well.  It was easy, different, and a real visual stunner.

Thai Noodle Salad

• 4 oz rice noodles
• 3 oz snow peas, julienne
• 1 handful of grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 handful of cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, julienne
• 2-4 scallions, chopped
• 1 handful of Cashews, chopped
• 1/3 c lime juice
• 1 Tbs fish sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbs brown sugar

Place noodles in a bowl, cover with boiling water and soak until soft (about 5-6 minutes).  Drain and cool by running under cold water, drain again.

Blanch the snow peas for two minutes, shock in ice water and drain.  Set aside.

Mix together dressing ingredients.

Combine the noodles, snow peas, peppers, cilantro and scallions.  Toss with dressing.   Top with cashews.