Things have been a little busy at my end and I will be updating you soon about that, but lets talk about this Thai glass noodle salad first.
Trying to lose weight? Trying to eat healthier? Looking for salads that don’t include mayo based dressings but still taste as great? Then look no further my dear lovely faithful readers, this glass noodle salad will answer all your woes. Well, most of them anyway!
Its light, refreshing and its gluten free, fat free, nut free, vegan and thus every reason why you should be making this. Made from mung bean starch, glass noodles (or cellophane noodles) are rich in iron and zinc. But lets be clear they are not a low carb option. They have their share of carbs, but its not white carbs and they have almost zero fat. Plus, if you have your glass noodles with a good serving of the veggies (like in this salad), I think this dish pretty healthy and fresh to include in your meals.
The salad is easy to make and pretty quick to put together. The only technique required is the cooking of the glass noodles, rest is chopping and mixing.
To cook glass noodles, soak the stiff mung bean noodles for about 15 minutes in hot water. Drain and wash it with cold water and cut the noodles to a smaller size. Then boil them for 30s- 1 min and drain again. If using in soups you can skip the second step. But if using noodles for this salad, you will need to boil them till tender. I am not kidding when I say its easy to make. 15 minutes in the kitchen and you have a side dish ready. I could eat it as a main too and I am sure you could too. And the thing with glass noodles is that even though they are flavorless they absorb the flavors of the sauce they mixed with, in this case the freshness of the mint, the tang of the lemon, the zing of the ginger and the heat from the chillies- a winning combination of flavors, if you ask me. And it doesn’t hurt that its gluten free, fat free, oil free and all. I sometimes add peanuts to the salad as well for an added crunch, but if you have a nut allergy, you can skip putting it.
In India, glass noodles or cellophane noodles are also known as falooda, but falooda is made from arrowroot starch, while traditional glass noodles and the one I have used for in the recipe are made from mung bean starch. If you remember the recipe for the slow cooker Kulfi, arrowroot starch is what you add to make your Kulfis silky smooth. So if you don’t have some arrowroot starch, use falooda in your kulfi next time. hey are slightly healthier.
In Delhi, you can find mung bean glass noodles (cellophane noodles) in INA market. The recipe is adapted from this recipe I saw on TV. I don’t remember the actual source since I forgot to write it down. So excuse me for not giving credit. I would like to say its one from a show hosted by Sanjeev Kapoor, but I am not sure if my memory serves me correct.
If salads make you cringe, you should try this one out. It might change the way you think. Hope you all have a lovely weekend.
Glass Noodle Salad
Recipe Type: Salad, side
Cuisine: Thai
Author: Shumaila Chauhan
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
1 Cucumber
few sprigs of spring onion
200 grams glass noodles
1 medium green capsicum (bell pepper), sliced
1 carrot, julienned
For the dressing:
4-5 green chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
salt, to taste
1 tbsp lemon, or to taste
1-2 tsp honey
1 lemon grass stem, finely chopped
few fresh mint leaves
few fresh coriander/cilantro leaves
Instructions
Prepare the glass noodles:
To cook glass noodles, soak the stiff mung bean noodles for about 15 minutes in hot water. Drain and wash it with cold water and cut the noodles to a smaller size. Then boil them for 30s- 1 min and drain in cold water. Keep aside.
Prepare the vegetables:
Chop the spring onions diagonally. Slice the green capsicum/bell pepper into thin strips. Julienne the carrot. You could also use thinly shaved carrot.
Make the dressing:
In a small bowl, combine the chopped green chillies, grated ginger, salt, lemon juice, honey, chopped lemon grass. Keep aside 2-3 minutes.
To assemble:
In your serving bowl, add the noodles, and veggies. Add the mint and cilantro/coriander leaves. Mix in the dressing. Refrigerate 1 hour. Before serving garnish with a few fresh mint leaves.
