Crunchy Noodle Salad
I’m intolerant of most vegetables, so when I eat a salad it has to be good enough to make up for likely stomach cramps. At the moment, this salad is something I look forward to making for days.
It is specifically designed to use up leftover meat (eg after a roast). So it’s great for leftover chicken or whatever. Don’t have leftovers? I love these roasts from Woollies, which are a great size for two adults but cost around $15 each. The pork was nicer than the beef in the salad. It could be really handy for a single person, who could cook a roast one night and Crunchy Noodle Salad the next night with the leftover meat.
Three people in my family like this salad, so I add roasted salted peanuts as well to fill it out. They are excellent and work really well in the symphony of flavours.
The dressing is super easy, super popular with kids, and is delicious with many things (salad, meat, dumplings, etc).
Accessibility
*There’s a fair bit of chopping involved, so if standing up is difficult you can either set up at a table or prepare things bit by bit over several hours (sitting down in between short bursts of work).
*This recipe is extremely flexible (handy for food intolerances and preferences) but I do feel that spring onions (or red onions) and mint are essential because of their distinctive pops of flavour. You may like something with a very vinegary taste instead (like pickled capers). Celery would go great.
*The fattiness is highly adjustable. Eg I put only a tiny amount of dressing on Chris’s meal, and I add more veggies to Tim’s meal. Instead of frying, you can put the chopped meat in a microwave for about thirty seconds with half a cup of water in the bottom of the bowl, then drain the water—that works beautifully for most leftover meat, even when you’re eating it “cold”, because it rehydrates the meat. I especially recommend doing it for cold chicken sandwiches.
*The cost can be really low (eg. with chicken or nuts or tinned fish or tofu).
*It is easy to make.
*You can easily make it vegetarian.
*You do need to cut up leftover (cooked) meat for this recipe… or you could substitute your own protein. I think tinned salmon would be divine.
*It must be eaten within an hour or the noodles go soggy, but you could otherwise make almost everything in advance. Grated carrot sometimes browns a little with oxygenation (so add it last out of the vegetables if you’re making it). The cooked meat must be fried at the last minute too, otherwise it won’t be nearly as nice.
*These quantities work well for three hungry people.
*I often cook duck, and there’s always way too much fat, so I save it specifically for this recipe.
Ingredients
1 pack Chinese style bbq pork or an equivalent amount of meat/protein
Other leftover meat eg chicken OR roasted salted peanuts OR other protein
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2-3 tablespoons sesame oil and/or duck fat
1 cucumber
Half tin sweet corn kernels
Mint leaves (about five per person, chopped in half or thirds if they’re big).
Half a red onion or 1 bunch of spring onions
A quarter of an iceberg lettuce
1-2 carrots
1-2 packs Chang’s fried noodles
Half cup mayo
1/4 cup maple syrup
Method
- Cook the pork and let it cool in the oven for twenty minutes. (I cook it in the morning then put it in the fridge, but you could skip the frying stage and just cook it in the evening and chop it up after cooling for ten minutes in the oven.)
- Cut cucumber into semi-circles, lay them out flat-ish, and scatter salt on top. Leave them for 10 minutes, then pat them dry with paper towels and put them in a big salad bowl. (Cucumber with ‘sweat’ and get soggy if you don’t do this.)
- Drain corn, wash and cut mint leaves, cut onion/s, cut lettuce into strips, then grate carrot/s. Put all veggies/leaves into the big bowl with 1-2 tablespoons of sesame oil and/or duck fat. Mix so everything has a slight coating of fat.
- Chop/shred all meat into bite size pieces or smaller (remove any charred or too-fatty bits). Put 1 tablespoon of oil or duck fat into a large fry pan on heat setting 8. Fry meat for a few minutes, scattering sesame seeds on top, then reduce heat to very low until ready.
- While meat is reheating, mix mayo and maple syrup into a sweet-and-sour sauce/dressing.
- Mix all the meat and noodles (and peanuts) into the big bowl, serve in individual bowls with sweet-and-sour sauce drizzled over the top.
Felicity Banks 