: The Noodles & The Marinade
7 TB low sodium soy sauce
3 TB balsamic vinegar
3 TB sugar -- or more to taste
2 1/2 ts red pepper oil
8 ea scallions -- mostly white
: part,
: thinly sliced
3 TB cilantro -- chopped
14 oz Chinese noodles
: The Eggplant & The Vegetable
: Garnish
1 lb Japenese eggplant
1 TB ginger root -- 1 1/2 oz.
: peeled &
: minced
1 clove garlic -- finely
: chopped
: Reserved Marinade, from
: above
4 oz snow peas -- strings removed
: cut
: in narrow strips
1/2 lb mung bean sprouts
3 TB sesame seeds
1 ea carrot -- medium size, cut
: in
: jullienne
: Cilantro leaves -- for
: garnish
Begin by making the marinade. Combine all the
ingredients (except the noodles) in a bowl, stir them
together until the sugar is dissolved. Next, bring a
large pot of water to a boil for the noodles. While it
is heating, gentl y pull apart the strands of noodles
with your fingers, loosening and fluffing them as you
do so. Add the noodles to the boiling water without
any salt, and give them a quick stir with a fork or a
pair of chopsticks. Cook briefly until they are done
but no t overly soft, a few minutes at most.
Immediately pour them into a colander and rinse them
in cold water to stop the cooking. Shake the colander
vigorously to get rid of as much water as possible,
and put the noodles into a bowl. Stir the marinade
again; then pour half of it over the noodles and toss
the m with your hands to distribute the marinade. Set
the remaining marinade aside. If the noodles aren't
to be used for a while, cover them with plastic and
refrigerate them. The flavors, as well as the heat in
the red pepper oil, will develop as the noodles sit.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Pierce the eggplants in
several places and bake them until they are soft and
their skins have shriveled, about 20 minutes,
depending on their size. Turn them over after 10
minutes so they will bake evenly. When the eggplants
are done, remove them to a cutting board and slice
them in half lengthwise. When they are cool enough to
handle, peel the skin away from the flesh. Don't worry
about any small pieces of skin that are difficult to
remove - the flecks of dark purple - brown are
pretty. Shred the eggplants, gently tearing them into
1/4 - inch strips. Add the ginger and garlic to the
reserved marinade, then the eggplant strips. Turn the
pieces over several times to make sure all the
surfaces are well coated, and set them aside. Bring a
quart of water to a boil with a teaspoon of salt.
Blanch the snow peas until they are bright green;
then remove them with a strainer and rinse them in
cool water. Cut them into long, narrow strips and set
them aside. Next, put the sprouts in the water and
cook them for about 30 seconds. Pour them into a
colander, rinse them with cold water, and lay them on
a clean kitchen towel to dry. Roast the sesame seeds
in a pan until they are lightly colored and smell
toasty. If the noodles have been refrigerated, allow
them to come to room temperatu re; then toss them with
the eggplant strips and half the sesame seeds. Mound
them on a platter, distribute the carrots, snow peas,
and mung bean sprouts over the noodles, and garnish
with the remaining sesame seeds and the leafy branches
of cilantro. Present the salad like this, layered and
laced with the colorful garnishes, either on a single
large platter or on individual plates. Once served,
guests can toss the noodles and vegetables together
to thoroughly mingle the different colors, textures,
and tastes. This salad is a combination of recipes
that were suggested to us by the China scholar and
cook, Barbara Tropp, author of The Modern Art of
Chinese Cooking. She thought they would be
particularly well suited to our vegetarian menu, and
they are.
Variations: Instead of sesame seeds, use roasted
peanuts or cashew nuts. Black sesame seeds can also
be mixed with the white. In spring, blanched asparagus
tips can be used in place of the eggplants, and long
red or white radishes, thinly sliced, then slivered,
can be included among the garnishes.
