Noodle salad fresh and festive

‘Tis the season to overindulge. Give this salad a try if you want something quick and fresh to balance out all the ridiculously rich goodies you’ve enjoyed at Christmas cocktail parties, family feasts and other holiday festivities. This recipe is similar to the Thai Beef Noodle Salad I made a couple summers back, and the ingredients taste just as great with shrimp as they do with flank steak.

Shrimp Noodle Salad
1 pound raw, peeled and deveined shrimp, tails removed
2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
3 tablespoons minced garlic, divided
¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons minced jalapeño
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1 6-ounce package mung bean noodles
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
½ cup fresh cilantro, torn
⅓ cup crushed unsalted peanuts

Make dressing by whisking 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 2 tablespoons garlic in a bowl with soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, jalapeño and rice wine vinegar. Set aside. Cook noodles according to package instructions, drain using a colander, and rinse in cold water before placing in a large bowl with bell pepper, carrot, cilantro and dressing. Heat remaining teaspoon sesame oil in frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a minute or two, until aromatic, before adding shrimp. Cook shrimp for a couple minutes on each side until shrimp are fully cooked. Toss shrimp with noodles and vegetables. Garnish each serving with a sprinkling of crushed peanuts.

Celebrating the start of summer with a sassy salad

I thought we’d celebrate the first day of summer with something fresh and flavorful.

I’ve had steak on the brain the past few days, as well as Thai food, so this is the end result of some different cravings, with a little inspiration from this recipe I found online.

This dish will definitely make its way back to the dinner table once Sacramento starts hitting triple digits, both because it tastes great but also because it requires minimal cooking.

Thai Beef Noodle Salad
2 pounds flank steak
1 ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
½ cup honey
6 tablespoons and two teaspoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 Serrano chile, seeds removed and chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons minced ginger
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 6-ounce package mung bean noodles
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cucumber, cut into chunks
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
¼ cup green onion, sliced

Whisk honey, 1 cup soy sauce, 6 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon lime juice, half the serrano, 3 cloves garlic and 3 tablespoons ginger in bowl; add steak. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes. Heat grill to medium-high and cook steaks 4-5 minutes on each side, until medium. Let cool and slice thin.

Mix remaining soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, Serrano, garlic and ginger in bowl with sesame oil and rice wine vinegar. Cover and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Cook noodles according to package instructions, drain using colander and rinse in cold water before placing in a bowl.Place colander over noodle bowl and pour dressing into colander. Discard leftover Serrano, garlic and ginger left in the colander.

Toss noodles with bell pepper, cucumber, sprouts, cilantro and green onion. Scoop noodle salad onto plates and top with a few slices of steak.