meditations on spicy asian noodle salad

When ixoj and I were trying to decide on our very first recipe for the blog we should have started together years ago, she sent me the link to this salad right after I got home from a (delicious) dinner of chicken cordon bleu and banana dulce de leche pie at some friends' house. Since I'm vegetarian and gave up sugar (with the necessary exception of hot chocolate) for Lent, except for in occasions where potential social awkwardness outweighs my food-centered convictions, I was feeling a little odd post-dinner, and a salad sounded perfect.

Last night, after expanding my 4.5-mile trek home through a bizarre snow/sleet/rain storm with detours into three different stores in search of some damn tofu (it's surprisingly difficult to find in London outside of Asian food stores (which, as a sidenote, they call Oriental food stores, which always surprises me, since 'oriental' in the US is vaguely un-pc with colonialist undertones (thanks, Said)), and I had, of course, forgotten to pick it up with my overpriced lemongrass at the one Thai supermarket in Camden), I wasn't craving a cold salad quite so much. But it was late and I was feeling woolly-minded and adaptation wasn't really my forte at the moment. Plus, I found when I arrived home that I didn't have any fish sauce, which I think would have added some needed complexity to the dressing, which really just tasted very, very spicy, and not much else. In other words: I felt a little let down (a situation I rectified by some judiciously imbibed hot chocolate). But it isn't entirely the recipe's fault. I wouldn't go so far to take all the blame, but perhaps it's a mutual letdown, mixed with bad timing.

Spicy Asian Noodle Salad (with some notes for possible improvements)
(from here, where you can also see beautiful, well-lit photos taken with an expensive camera)

Note: I think that this salad really is best for summer, and some tomatoes would work well here, along with some chopped bok choy. I think it would also benefit from a quick saute of the noodles in the tofu pan, so that they get hot and a little crispy, and a quick pickling of the vegetables before adding them to the salad. I picked up some fresh rice noodles at the store, and while I didn't use them last night, I think they'd work well here too.

Ingredients

12 oz.-ish extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes (drain well, wrapped in a towel with a plate or bowl on top)
Vegetable oil
2 servings flat rice stick noodles

Spicy lemongrass sauce
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1" minced fresh ginger or galangal (I used the latter)
2 finely chopped lemongrass stalks
1-2 minced bird's eye chili peppers (I used two, and it was definitely on the very spicy side)
1 t turmeric
5 T soy sauce
1.5 T sesame oil
1 T rice vinegar
2 t raw or brown sugar
Fish sauce (the original recipe says you can use salt, but I think the fish sauce would be better)


Vegetables/herbs of choice
I used a generous handful of both cilantro and Thai basil, some spring onion, shredded carrots, matchstick cucumbers, and shallots. Some other good options would be bok choy, bean sprouts, peas, etc. A good option would be to quickly pickle at least the carrots, onions, and cucumbers in some vinegar with a bit of salt and sugar.

2 T crushed peanuts or toasted sesame seeds.


Directions
1. Chop and drain the tofu for 10 minutes (or just pat it very dry)
2. Combine all the ingredients for the spicy lemongrass sauce in a small bowl.
3. Toss the tofu cubes with 2 T (or more) of the sauce and set aside to marinate for 10-15 minutes.
4. Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet, then add the tofu and cook until it's well browned (2-3 minutes on each side).
5. Meanwhile, cook the rice noodles (about 5 minutes in boiling water). Drain, rinse under cold water.
(at this point, I would toss them in with the tofu for a minute or two)
6. Put the noodles in the serving bowl, drizzle and toss with a little sesame oil, then toss with the vegetables/herbs and tofu. Drizzle with the dressing, and add peanuts or sesame seeds if desired.