Orchid Lime Salad

It's been a slow start in the kitchen this January.  The cold weather, the January blues.  I hadn't been feeling too inspired in the kitchen lately, and I knew that I needed to get away from that "funk".  Enter Sunday morning, and I was desperately trying to come up with our meal plan for the week.  I was feeling a little frustrated because I wasn't getting any feedback from the family on what to have for Sunday dinner (I always try to make a big dinner for Sunday, a) because I have more time to prep, and b) because I like to make something that gives us leftovers (hello, no cooking on Monday!).  My hubby came out, flipping through my copy of Whitewater Cooks with Friends...and the inspiration started to roll.

This recipe is one that I had tagged a long time ago, but I wasn't sure if my family would like it.  But my hubby sounded interested, and we had most of the ingredients on hand already, so this salad was going to part of our Sunday dinner.  Here is the recipe:

Orchid Lime Salad (Souce: Whitewater Cooks with Friends)

Dressing

1/2 cup peanut butter, smooth
1 lime, juice and zest of
2 teaspoons sesame oil
4 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari (I used soy sauce)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 bunch cilantro, washed, dried and chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Salad
16 oz pad thai rice noodles
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
1/2 long english cucumber, seeded and julienned
1 red pepper, julienned
2 cups bean sprouts, washed well
1 bunch green onions, sliced diagonally
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 teaspoon chinese five spice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Using a food processor or hand mixer, with the exception of the cilantro and vegetable oil, mix all of the dressing ingredients together.  Add the oil in a steady stream until it too is mixed in.  Stir in half of the cilantro, and set aside.  I put my dressing into a (sealable) shaker and into the fridge while I prepped the rest of the salad.

Place the rice noodles in a large bowl, cover with boiling water.  Allow the noodles to soak for 10-15 minutes, or until just tender.  I let ours soak for 12 minutes and they could have soaked a minute or two  longer.

Drain the noodles into a colander and rinse with cold water.  Once drained, put the noodles back into the bowl and toss with sesame oil.

Add in the julienned carrots, cucumber, red pepper.  Add in the bean sprouts and green onions.  Set aside.

In a skillet, heat the butter.  Add in the sesame seed, chinese five spice and salt.  Toss until golden, about 3 minutes.  Add the sugar and toss for another 30 seconds.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool thoroughly.

When it is time to serve, add the dressing to the noodles. and mix gently.

Garnish with remaining cilantro and the toasted sesame seeds.

VERDICT:
First off, this recipe makes a HUGE salad.  Perfect for a pot luck.  I had no idea how big it would be when I started.  So when you are adding the dressing, only prepare enough salad for the meal that you are serving.  That means making fresh salad each meal...but trust me, ti's worth it.  Man oh man...was this salad EVER GOOD.  Like one of my most favourite salads ever (do I sounds like a valley girl there?!), and my new go-to salad for potlucks.  I could NOT stop eating it.  I was thankful that we had so much, because we got to eat it for a few days.  Not a leftover that I got tired of.  I even have leftover dressing.  Which is exciting.  Everyone in the family loved this salad.  Even the toddler, who was eating the dressing straight.  This salad was really, really good..  Would be perfect for the summer, though we thoroughly enjoyed it in freezing cold January!