I had the really skinny size of a pinhead whole wheat vermicelli on hand as well as the round spaghetti sized cellophane Vietnamese rise noodles and I thought heck, why not, use both. So I did. I liked the contrast of the chewy texture of the latter, and the barely perceptible former except for the nuttiness. The salad would work well with either.
Soak the noodles in boiling water for about 5 minutes, or until soft. Drain and leave to dry in a colander. (If you use different sizes of noodles like I did, steep them in separate bowls.)
Meanwhile, bring an inch of water to a boil in a sauce pan, add frozen peeled soy beans (edamame) and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and place in a large bowl.
Finely chop the green onion, the red chile pepper and the radicchio. Add to the edamame. Season with the black sesame seeds. Add the noodles, toss together, stir in the dressing, toss again.
Serves 2
1/2 package cellophane noodes (rice vermicelli, your size)
1 1/2 cups shelled, cooked edamame
1 green onion, thinly sliced, including green part
1/2 fresh red chile, finely minced
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped (optional)
1/4 cup finely chopped radicchio
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds (can subsitute white sesame seeds)
Mint would be good if you have it. Or Thai basil. And of course sea salt to taste, if you wish.
Dressing
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 tbsps peanut oil (or whatever mild oil you prefer)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp tamari (or soy sauce)
Whisk everything together! Presto!
I bought these dried chiles a year ago in Mexico. They were whole but I broke them open and shook out the seeds for cooking. I also bought small bags of chipotle chiles and ancho chiles and poblanos. And in the winter when I'm making black bean soup I love to soak some of the chiles in hot water and then pulse them in a mini blender and the spice and heat and flavour they impart is unparalelled and pure. Look for them at your local ethnic grocer.
