Cool California Sesame Shiitake Noodles

JanuaryBride's Note:

"California is known for trend-setting cuisine and much of that is based on the culinary influence of its citizens, including a large Asian population. Here’s a simple take on a cold noodle salad. Add baked tofu, chicken or shrimp if you wish, but it’s delish as is!" Recipe from Whole Foods website. NOTE: I just made this delicious recipe. I only used 4 oz of noodles and then added WAY more veggies (cooked broccoli slaw and sliced baby bella mushrooms). I also added 2 T of peanut butter which I highly recommend. Served ours WARM (instead of cool) with some shrimp on top.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 8 ounces dried capellini
• 1 cup frozen shelled edamame
• 1 -2 tablespoon canola oil
• 6 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms , stems removed, sliced
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• ½ cup julienned carrot
• ½ cup thinly sliced red cabbage
• 2⁄3; cup thinly sliced green onion
• ¼ cup sesame seed , lightly toasted
• crushed red pepper flakes , to taste (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta, adding edamame to pot with the pasta when the water boils. Rinse in very cold water, drain and set aside.
2. In a large sauté pan, cook mushroom slices in oil over low heat (do not brown). Turn off heat.
3. Add toasted sesame oil, soy sauce and rice vinegar. Toss shiitake sauce with noodles, carrots and/or cabbage and green onions.
4. Serve topped with sesame seeds.
5. Pass red pepper flakes at the table, if desired.

Reviews

[magpie diner]

I love pasta used this way. Took your advice and used peanut butter, which is another combo I love. Aside from having to sub some veggies based on what I had, I added a bit of garlic to the sauce. I also doubled the sauce because I'm sure I had over 8oz of pasta. All in all a tasty dish, my daughter loved it. I think it would look lovely on a buffet - would toss in a little extra oil if I were serving cold, since the peanut butter in the sauce makes it a bit sticky. And I'd use and extra tbsp of soy sauce next time. Thanks JB, this is just what I was looking for tonight!

[CHILI SPICE]

This was nice refreshing "cool" salad for a hot summers dinner. I added prawns and peanut butter as suggested. The sesame oil really added a rice nutty flavor. Thank You. {Made and reviewed for NZ/AUS recipe swap #30 July '09}

[dianegrapegrower]

Bland, bland, bland... Had to double the vinegar and soy sauce, and even then it was bland. Halved the pasta, doubled the veges (carrot, onion, mushrooms, and cabbage were good - just not enough). By time I was done tweaking to make it to our taste - it was a whole different recipe!