Warm Rice Noodle Salad with Roasted Vegetables

This salad makes a great hot lunch because you can throw almost any veggie in and they will all come together because of the tangy soy dressing, cilantro, and peanuts. It would also be delicious cold and thus makes a good choice for picnics.

You'll need:

rice stick noodles
broccoli, cut into florets
shitake mushrooms, stems discarded, quartered
carrots, julienned
spring garlic, sliced
green onion, sliced
cilantro, chopped
peanuts, partially crushed

1t olive oil
1t soy sauce
1T sesame oil
1T dark soy sauce
1t hoisin sauce
1t chili garlic sauce
1/2t rice vinegar


Heat oven to 400 degrees (if you're in a hurry, you can saute the veggies instead of roasting them). Toss broccoli and mushrooms with salt, pepper, olive oil & soy sauce. Roast until golden, about 20 minutes.

In the meantime, boil water for the noodles. Cook noodles until still slightly hard, about 1 minute. Drain and rinse.

Heat sesame oil in a skillet. Add garlic, onion, and carrot. Saute 1 minute. Add noodles. Add dark soy, hoisin, and chili sauces. Mix well so that the noodles absorb the sauce. Add roasted veggies, rice vinegar, and 1T water. Cook, stirring, until noodles are tender. Remove from heat and toss with cilantro and peanuts (and a squeeze of lime if you have one). Serve hot or cold.