So we are in the heart of Winter and you may have noticed that I have been cooking a fair bit of Winter stodge as that is what I tend to crave in the cooler months. I did feel however, that I needed to break that up a tad and not only eat something a little less stodgy but to mix it up on the website a little for those in the Northern Hemisphere who are currently in the throws of a heat wave (pfffft). I think this Asian crunchy noodle salad will appeal to those from all corners of the Globe, Summer or Winter. Fresh, super crunchy and with those ever-present, gloriously aromatic flavours of Asia, this salad was yum!
If you would like a little less crunch in the salad (as it is pretty crunchy), this would be really nice with soft, flat rice or glass noodles.
Prep time: 20 Minutes Cooking time: 15 Minutes $$ Medium Budget
Serves 4
Oil for deep frying (peanut, rice bran, canola)
4 x 150gm Scotch fillet steaks (rump, fillet or sirloin will also be fine and you could even stretch 3)
200gm of Asian egg noodles (or 4 portions),
1 cucumber, halved, deseeded and sliced (you can deseed by running a teaspoon right down the middle)
2 cups of bean sprouts
1 cup of mint leaves
1 cup of coriander leaves
3 kaffir lime leaves, spine removed, rolled and very finely shredded
1 small red onion, halved and finely sliced top to bottom
For the Hot and Sour Dressing
Juice of 2-3 limes (depending on juiciness)
2 tbs of fish sauce
1.5 tbs of brown sugar
1 lemon grass, white part only and very finely sliced
1 small clove of garlic, finely minced
1 long or 2 small red chillies, finely sliced (deseeded if you like less heat)
Place the cucumber, bean sprouts, mint leaves, coriander leaves, kaffir lime leaves and red onion in a large bowl and toss with your fingers to combine. Set aside.
In small bowl, combine the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, lemon grass, garlic and chilli until the sugar has dissolved.
Heat a wok and place enough oil to cover about 1.5 inches of the base of the wok. When the oil is nice and hot (you can test this by putting a small piece of dried noodle in and if it bubbles immediately, it is hot enough), roughly break the noodles into smaller pieces and fry, in batches until puffed and golden. Drain on a plate lined with paper towel.
Heat a griddle pan to smoking hot. Rub a little oil over the steaks and season with salt and pepper. Chargrill for approximately 4 minutes each side for medium rare. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes before thinly slicing and tossing through the salad mixture. Spoon over about half of the dressing and toss again to coat.
Divide the crunchy noodles between four serving bowls and top with a generous mound of the salad. Spoon over the remaining dressing and serve.