Quick and Easy

Gingery Noodle Salad

June  3, 2019
4
14 Ratings
Photo by Julia Gartland
  • Cook time 20 minutes
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

Reprinted with permission from Mark Bittman's Dinner for Everyone. As for riffing, Bittman says, "With the gingery noodle salad, cutting the vegetables in thin strips and then flash-cooking them is the key technique for ultimate twirling. So go ahead and use carrots, Asian greens, or other sturdy vegetables the same way." —Mark Bittman

Test Kitchen Notes

Featured in 3 Simple Noodle Salads You'll Want to Make All Summer Long. —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Salt
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
  • 6 scallions, whites and greens separated and chopped
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons good-quality vegetable oil
  • Pepper
  • 1 pound snow peas, trimmed
  • 8 ounces whole wheat angel hair pasta, broken in half
Directions
  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Put the sesame seeds in a medium skillet over medium heat and toast, shaking the pan occasionally, until they are golden and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
  2. Use a microplane or the smallest holes on a box grater to grate the ginger into a large bowl. Add the scallion whites, soy sauce, lemon juice, and oils, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
  3. Stack the snow peas a few at a time and slice them lengthwise into 3 or 4 thin strips. It’s okay if some peas pop out or split; just save them all together. Cut all the remaining pods.
  4. When the water boils, add the pasta and stir. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it’s tender but not mushy; start checking after 5 minutes. When the pasta is ready, stir the snow peas into the pot and immediately drain, shaking off as much excess water as possible (but don’t rinse). Add to the bowl with the dressing and toss gently to coat. Garnish with the scallion greens and sesame seeds, and serve warm or let sit for up to 1 hour and serve at room temperature.

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My books include the bestselling How to Cook Everything and Vegan Before 6 P.M. (VB6), where I provide all the necessary tools for making the switch to a Flexitarian diet with lists for stocking the pantry, strategies for eating away from home in a variety of situations, pointers for making cooking on a daily basis both convenient and enjoyable, and a complete 28-day eating plan showing VB6 in action.

1 Review

megh May 23, 2022
This recipe was so salty. As I was adding salt to the soy dressing - a typo? - I was like, really? It seems like there should be some mirin or something to balance out the salt and acid. It's a recipe with good bones, but I've definitely had better Asian noodle salads.