Try this summer whole meal salad that cooks up in 30 minutes. Noodles, addictive mini cucumbers, a little spice and your favorite protein … chicken, fish, salmon, you name it. Give it a quick marinade, then cook to perfection, and toss it into the noodles and slurp away!
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
For the dressing:
- 1 jalapeño pepper super finely diced
- 4 garlic clove roughly chopped
- Kosher salt
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice plus more as needed
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (divided into two 1 Tbs)
For the noodles and steak:
- ½ lb. skirt steak (you can substitute chicken, pork or fish)
- 6 oz. wide rice noodles
- ½ small head Napa cabbage coarsely chopped
- 2 mini seedless cucumbers thinly sliced
- ½ cup finely chopped mint plus more leaves for serving
- ½ cup finely chopped roasted salted peanuts, plus more for serving
DIRECTIONS:
- Add the jalapeño, garlic, salt, lime juice, soy sauce, honey, and 1 tablespoon oil to a bowl and stir to dissolve honey.
- Place the steak in a medium bowl and add 3 tablespoons of the dressing to the steak. Reserve remaining dressing and set aside. Let the steak marinate, turning every few minutes for at least 20 minutes, up to 1 hour.
- While the steak is marinating, bring a pot of water to a boil. Remove from heat, add noodles, and cover. Let sit, stirring every minute to keep from sticking, until noodles are al dente, 5–8 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Drain, toss with remaining tablespoon of olive oil and set aside.
- Combine cabbage and cucumbers in a large bowl; season lightly with salt. Massage with your hands to release excess water. Drain off any water that pools in bottom of bowl.
- Pat steak dry and season with salt. Grill steak on your barbeque. Let rest 5 minutes before cutting into semi-thin slices against the grain.
- Add cabbage mixture, noodles, steak, ½ cup mint, and ½ cup peanuts to bowl with reserved dressing. Toss to combine; taste and season with salt if needed. Top with more mint and peanuts before serving.