Sunday, April 13, 2008

Cold Udon Noodle Salad for Jared

AW, poor Jared. It's Sunday yet again and that means he is off to do a 12-hour shift at his job that is 30-45 minutes away (on Sundays . . . it's much longer on weekdays with more traffic). It rained the past 2 days here, which means Jared didn't get to ride his bike around town too much. Plus it seems to only rain on his days off. And the final kicker? Today is one of the most gorgeous days so far this year. Its chilly, breezy but crazy sunny and everything is green. Its a "go on a picnic" kinda day really. He's super grumpy about it and I really do feel bad for him. Plus I miss him like crazy.
So, I thought the very least I could do was to make him a big lunch that he can snack on throughout his long day. I made a HUGE batch of cold udon noodle salad with Chinese eggplant (a less bitter variety of the Japanese eggplant), orange bell pepper, fried tofu, green onions and black sesame seeds. The "dressing" for the salad included peanut butter, soy sauce, maple syrup, a healthy dose of Sriracha, sesame oil, chili oil, water, garlic, ginger (which I didn't have enough of) and rice wine vinegar. I wish I had used lime juice instead of the rice wine vinegar, which made the background too acidic without enough flavor to justify the acidity. I fried the tofu in canola oil with a little salt and drained them on a paper towel. In a screaming hot pan, I sautéed the eggplant chunks and orange bell pepper strips until they were just wilted. I think if not for the black sesame seeds and green onions, this wouldn't have been as good.
Jared said he enjoyed it, so I'm a happy lady.
Photobucket

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've never had udon noodles. =X but they look so good!!

Leigh said...

Wow, the eggplant really pops with color in this. Yum!

Anonymous said...

it looks amazing! no way would anyone manage to stay grumpy after a bite of this.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

SO lovely of you to make that noodle-salad for Jared - I love the mix of ingredients!

Jess said...

You are so sweet! That dish looks so yummy, and I'm sure it brightened Jared's day--even if just a little bit. Poor guy!

Jes said...

Looks familiar! :)

So funny story, I linked over to Jared's bike blog and I totally know him. I work at Sopo, was one of the main people who threw broken hearts, and I'm friends with all the tampa/st pete bike kids. Small world!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

ok, now you have ME wanting to try the bright purple Japanese eggplant. I think it will have to be a future “challenge” food for me.

I love how you used the phrase “screaming hot pan” in your recipe description.

Jes said...

I do know Hank. :) We're not really good friends, but we've met and such. If you see a purple fixed gear with a small girl on it around town, that's me!

Tofu Mom (AKA Tofu-n-Sprouts) said...

OOhhh, wow. This looks so VERY YUMMY! I'd so make this for a weekend of yummy snacking...

Unknown said...

Wow the boy seems pretty lucky to me! haha. I tried udon noodles for my first time tonight, but hot. I am looking forward to trying them cold now. Mmm.

aTxVegn said...

You are a sweetie to make that gorgeous salad for Jared!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Aww, it's so tough to work on nice days. It's always nice to have food from someone you love though!

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

you are awesome for doing that. missing out on picnic days is pretty terrible, but I could see a salad like this making up for it. and I love those japanese eggplants, too!

Unknown said...

Poor Jared!! Totally sucks that the rain didn't let him ride too much on his days off.
But OH MAN my mouth is watering over that cold udon noodle salad!!!

Calimaryn said...

That salad looks so yummy! I hope he carried the enjoyment of it with him during his long work day.

I always think that weather has a perverse sense of humor, making it miserable when you have free time and beautiful when you don't. Though it could also just be a typical spring! hah

bazu said...

that noodle salad looks so gorgeous- I'm sure it perked up Jared's day! And hopefully soon, you two will go on a very nice and warm picnic together!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like something that would cheer me up, that's for sure. Hope things are looking up for the two of you now. :)