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This Tuesday marks the start of the lunar new year and the year of the fire horse, which represents fresh opportunities, personal growth and good fortune. I, for one, am keen to usher that horse in, and to celebrate I’ll be making this noodle salad, which is a variation on one I first ate at Mandy Yin’s restaurant, Sambal Shiok. It’s a dish that’s eaten across Malaysia and Singapore, and the idea is that everyone around the table tosses the salad high into the air at the same time: the superstition goes that the higher the salad is tossed, the more luck will ensue. Come on, Nelly.
Prosperity toss noodle salad
Dried beancurd sticks (and pink sushi ginger) can be found in Chinese supermarkets or online. When soaked, they become like chewy thinly sliced tofu. This recipe is all in the preparation: the only cooking is frying the beancurd sticks and cashews and boiling the noodles. You’ll need a large lipped bowl or platter (big enough to serve four from) and four pairs of chopsticks.
Prep 15 min
Cook 50 min
Serves 4
120g dried beancurd skin sticks, broken into 4cm pieces
6 clementines, 2 peeled and sliced into rounds, 4 juiced, to get 8 tbsp
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tsp toasted sesame oil
8 tbsp rapeseed oil
150g dried wheat noodles
100g roasted cashews, chopped
Fine sea salt
2 small red chicory (275g), halved lengthways and thinly sliced
30g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
30g bunch mint, leaves picked and chopped
30g pickled pink sushi ginger, drained and thinly sliced
4 tbsp crispy fried onions
Put the broken beancurd skin sticks in a heatproof bowl, pour over boiling water, poke the beancurd so it’s all submerged, then leave to soak for 30 minutes until soft. Slice one stick to make sure it’s cooked all the way through and not crunchy in the middle, then drain well.
To make the dressing, in a small bowl whisk the clementine juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, two teaspoons of toasted sesame oil and four tablespoons of rapeseed oil.
Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, then drain and rinse them under cold water. Drain again, then dress with two tablespoons of rapeseed oil and put to one side.
Put the cashews in a cold pan, then set it over a medium heat and toast for about five minutes, stirring often, until nicely browned all over. Tip into a bowl.
Warm the remaining two tablespoons of rapeseed oil in the same pan and, when it’s hot, add the drained beancurd skins, half a teaspoon of salt and the remaining two teaspoons of sesame oil. Cook for five minutes, until the beancurd starts to crisp up, then take off the heat.
To assemble, put the noodles in the centre of a lipped bowl, arrange the chicory, herbs, beancurd skin, clementine slices and pickled ginger around the outside, then scatter over the cashews and crispy onions. Pour over the dressing, then encourage everyone to arm themselves with chopsticks and toss the salad together – and, if willing, shout, “Lo Hei!”
