I almost forgot this was a food blog.

I didn't really. And for the sake of argument, I never promised it would be strictly food. Okay? And I've been pretty busy letting my parents cook and eating at Jillian's. But today I said 'enough is enough' with organizing my things and I tried my hand at those delicious vinegary cold noodles that I've been dreaming about since returning from China. So I have some food to blog about. Pretty good food. That I made.

I did a little research on trusted online foodie sources, namely Tastespotting and Tasty Kitchen. Having thought so much about these noodles, however, I had very specific requirements so I ultimately took it into my own hands. And, not to toot my own horn (my mother will do that if you ask her for a review), but the results exceeded my expectations.

It was cold and vinegary and perfect. Whole wheat spaghetti (because we had it), lots of vegetables and a dressing used for sesame noodles. The sauce is key.

Mix this up while your parents are at work and you can blast Top 40s radio. That'll give the flavors time to marry before dinnertime. Food Network phrase.

We like things kind of spicy around here, so I threw in the Thai chili sauce (you could use sriracha) and red pepper flakes. This is highly recommended, but you can tone it down if you don't like your mouth burning a little. The raw vegetables do a nice job of cooling it off. My veg line-up included cucumber, carrot, red bell pepper, broccoli and edamame (for protein!). 

I prefer broccoli not to be raw, so I blanched it. Just toss chopped fresh broccoli into boiling water for about a minute and a half, then use a slotted spoon to transfer it to ice water. After a minute there, drain it. Voila.

Feel free to dump those noodles into the broccoli water. I'm all about conservation. River to Well, ya heard me?

While that's cooking, start julienning! (I didn't realize that actually is a verb, but I did verify.) For aesthetic and consumption purposes, it's best if the vegetables resemble the pasta. Babies probably are not the preferred variety of carrots for this dish, but that's what we had and they julienned up just fine.

One recipe I came across used purple cabbage (julienned, of course), which would have been lovely. But I'm not crazy about cabbage, so my rainbow stopped after ROY G.

Now comes the hard part. Drain the pasta and mix it with a bit of sesame oil, then place all the components into the refrigerator and wait until an appropriate mealtime. Grab a beer while you're at it. You're on summer break, after all. (Please note, you may skip this step if you are an average adult with a work schedule and start this process closer to dinnertime. In that case, rinse the pasta with cold water and continue to the next step.)

When your mom returns from slaving away at the office, she can take a photo of you mixing these fresh, healthful ingredients together into a nearly irresistible dish. It's okay if you get some on your shirt...the girl getting your frozen yogurt at Braum's afterward will probably have a dirty shirt too.

If your chopsticks are packed in a box in your garage, feel free to use a fork. And go back for seconds.

Chinese Cold Noodles
(Serves four)

6-8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti (or soba or rice noodles)
1 bell pepper, seeds removed
1 cucumber, seeds removed
1 carrot (or a handful of baby carrots)
1 broccoli crown, chopped and blanched
3/4 c. shelled edamame (frozen works great)
Other protein options: chicken, tofu, shrimp...

Dressing:
1/4 c. low-sodium soy sauce
1 T. sesame oil
1 T. canola oil
1+ T. rice vinegar
1 dash of chili sauce
1 t. red pepper flakes
3 scallions, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and rinse with cold water. Julienne the vegetables. Whisk dressing ingredients together and let set, if you have time. Combine everything in a large bowl. Serve and eat.

Repeat as necessary.




With love.