Rice Noodle Salad with Tuna and Snow Peas
Cold pasta can be heavy so use a lot of crisp, crunchy vegetables as a counterpoint to the softness of the pasta. This rice noodle salad has almost as much of the julienned snow peas as noodles. Bite-size pieces of seared tuna make it entree-worthy and freshly grated ginger juice in the dressing adds some zip.
Ingredients
250 grams (8 ounces) udon or pad
Thai rice noodles
3 ml ( 3/4 tsp) salt, more for boiling noodles
170 grams (6 ounces) snow peas, strings pulled
65 ml ( 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp) grapeseed oil
1 400 gram (14-ounce) fresh tuna steak, about 3.2 centimetres (1 1/4 inches) thick
2 ml ( 1/2 tsp) freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
45 ml (3 tbsp) ginger juice, fresh or bottled
20 ml (1 1/2 tbsp) rice wine vinegar
15 ml (1 tbsp) soy sauce
0.5 ml ( 1/8 tsp) sesame oil
0.5 ml ( 1/8 tsp) mirin, optional
5 ml (1 tsp) black sesame seeds
125 ml ( 1/2 cup) thinly sliced scallions
Directions
Cook pasta in a pot of salted boiling water until just beyond al dente,
about 7 to 9 minutes, and cool under cold running tap water. Drain and reserve.
In small saucepan, bring 500 ml (2 cups) water and 2 ml ( 1/2 tsp) salt to boil over high heat. Blanch snow peas until just tender but still snappy, about 1 1/2 minutes; transfer to ice bath to cool. Drain and slice lengthwise into strips about 0.6- centimetre ( 1/4-inch) thick. Reserve.
Season tuna with remaining salt and the pepper. Heat 15 ml (1 tbsp) oil in 9-inch skillet or saute pan over high heat; when it shimmers, sear tuna, about a minute and a half on each side. Drain tuna on a plate lined with paper towel, then cut into pieces about 2 centimetres ( 3/4 inch) long and 0.6 centimetres ( 1/4 inch) wide and reserve.
Whisk remaining oil with ginger juice, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and mirin, if using. In large serving bowl toss pasta with dressing. Add snow peas and tuna. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds and scallions and toss thoroughly to combine. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Refrigerate covered or serve immediately. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
