Asian Crunchy Noodle Salad

I first made this Salad at my son, Michael's Middle school for the Teacher Appreciation Day in 2009. My husband, Peyton said they wouldn't like it so he made me leave one other bowl at home. Surprisingly, to me, this salad was a hit with the teachers and I wished I had brought the other bowl. This year, by popular request, I made it again for his Teacher Appreciation Day. What I learned is to let the noodles cool to room temperature otherwise the peas will get overcooked by the heat of the noodles and will not maintain its bright green color. This recipe is adapted from my favorite chef, Ina Garten however, I reduced the oil to 1/2 and instead of using honey, I replaced with Grade A Maple syrup as honey is not a recommended ingredient for consumption (see Master Cleanse book by Stanley Burrough). Another item I use cautiously is soy sauce, use 1/2 of this recipe and add to taste as some soy sauce are much saltier than others depending on the brand.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb thin spaghetti

1 lb peas (sugar snap or snow peas) I prefer snow peas

1/2 cup veg oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/3 cup soy sauce

3 tbs dark sesame oil

1 tbs maple syrup (grade A)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

3 tbs sesame seeds (Korean Grocery store)

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced

4 scallions, diced diagonally

3 tbs chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook to Al Dente. Drain and set aside. Let it cool to room temperature (so that peas will not overcook).

In another pot of boiling water, blanched the sugar snap peas or snow peas quickly and put in ice bath. Drain.

Make the dressing whisking veg oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, maple syrup, garlic, ginger and peanut butter in a bowl.

Combine spaghetti, peas (sugar snap peas or snow peas), peppers and scallions in a large salad bowl. Pour the dressing over the spaghetti mixture. Add sesame seeds and toss together.

Garnish with Parsley.