Monday, June 17, 2013

Sea Tangle Noodle Slaw with Vietnamese Dressing



crunchy, tart, crisp, slippery, sweet, savory, tangy and spicy

this is my new favorite salad.  i've had it every day for a week.   by it's self, a great light snack or lunch, but topped with shrimp, shredded chicken, BBQ'd salmon?..a delicious, filling, low fat, low calorie meal.  fresh and easy when you have some made up in the fridge.   it saves well and gets even better as it sits.  

 i came across these strange Sea Tangle noodles at one of my Asian markets.  i always have to try the weird thing that i've never seen before.  

what a find!...these things are good!
the texture is soooo unexpected.  they are crunchy right out of the bag...i mean CRUNCHY!  they do soften a bit when the dressing is applied or after it sits.
the flavor?...there is none, so the noodles make for a great blank canvas.
great for filling up...they only have 6 calories per large handful.  perfect for watching the swimsuit waistline.


they DO come in a big "tangle"...easy to separate and the wad in the bag grows into a HUGE pile o'glassy noodles.

if the crunch is too weird for you, put them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes with a few squeezes of lemon juice.  them strain them and dry as well as you can before putting them in salad. 
they are also good warm.  i haven't come up with any recipes yet, but i did try this dressing on the warm soft noodles and i think it would make a great side for something...anything.

hey...they're only 6 calories !
eat them with everything.


ASIAN SLAW SALAD

about 2 cups Sea Tangle Noodles, rinsed and dried as well as poss.
1 1/2-2 cups savoy cabbage, sliced very thin
10 snap peas, sliced diagonal
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup shredded carrots
1 celery stalk, slice thin on the diagonal
 4 large basil...chiffonade
quite a few mint leaves depending on size...(i used about 10.  mine were very small)  torn or chiffonade
scallion or chives..i like just the green of the scallion.
toasted sesame seeds optional, but delicious add.



VIETNAMESE STYLE DRESSING

2 Tbsp lime juice
1 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 to 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
 1 to 2 tsp fresh ginger put through garlic press to extract juice and a little minced ginger.
pinch of red pepper flakes.

mix all ingredients together until sugar is dissolved.  TASTE TEST...i might have added a little squeeze more lime.  put it in a glass jar.  i usually double the recipe so it's ready in the fridge..  give the jar a good shake before using.
NOTE...use sparingly so as not to over dress your salad.  the salad will save better and sesame oil flavor goes a loooonnnng way.   this was very good the next day for a packed lunch.

this is a bag to look for.  look carefully among the konjac and shirataki noodles.  it took me 5 or 10 minutes to locate another bag in the market.  i found this large bag at H Mart in irvine.  i have recently seen a few bags at Mother's Market, so i bet your local health food store might carry them.
by the way...this is "THE" fish sauce commonly used in Vietnamese cooking.  my friend Cathy gave me this big bottle of fish sauce that her Mom uses at her PHO restaurant in Little Saigon.  she says this is "the" one to use.  it is far better than the commercial one i bought at my local market.

10 comments:

Rosita Vargas said...

Rico y saludable plato y un Dressing fantástico,hugs.

AML said...

This looks interesting and so healthy. Thanks for sharing.

bevvbevv said...

love it!! I use sea tangle noodles in my fake pho. Highly recommended!

Jules and Ruby said...

hi peoples...

ROSITA...i will google translate, but..muchas gracias

AML...i hope you try them sometime

bevvbevv...fake PHO sounds good. i was going to try them in a fake Odamki Mushi...Japanese egg custard with noodles

Unknown said...

This looks so refreshing!

Gexton said...

Thanks for sharing such a yummy post regarding mangoes. Unfortunately many people in the

Pakistan do not afford to have them.
Mango exporter pakistan
Mango producer in Pakistan

Anonymous said...

This looks delicious. In case you're interested though, THE fish sauce brand these days is Red Boat fish sauce, also from Phu Quoc. It's the first pressing of the anchovies. I just came across your site this morning, and I'm having a great time looking through your posts. :o)

Jules and Ruby said...

hey thanks Anonymous...i'll have to check that out. it will take me a while to finish off the huge bottle my friend gave me...LOL

Julie said...

This is right up my alley. Love the child asian noodle dishes, and especially fond of the fact that you can double the recipe and snack on it for a week. Thanks so much, cannot wait to try it!

Julie said...

*Cold

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