Shared Tables:
Macho S.N.A.G.'s Warm Noodle Salad
By Caroline Chan

I am good buddies with this macho S.N.A.G.. He works out in the gym a few times a week. He's a real handyman. So handy that he has recently, in his spare time, taken apart his old laundry room and installed a smart n' slick one complete with a new sink, freshly painted walls, brand new ceiling (!), re-configured drainage all on his own! He's also great with computers and anything electronic. Wow, incredibly macho!

Yet this friend also loves latin dancing and croons well with the soppiest ballads. He always has wise and soothing words of wisdom for his friends when they're feeling blue. He is, oh shucks, a S.N.A.G. - a Sensitive New Age Guy.

Having tasted my cooking a few times, my friend, whom I'll call Mr Macho S.N.A.G., then decided that we should swap roles. He knows my weakness for instant noodles (especially the original Japanese brand, the one with the trademark of a little cartoon boy carrying a take-out box) and offered to make me his special rendition of instant noodles for dinner. I got sucked in immediately despite knowing it could be a dangerous challenge. Afterall, he has told me time and again he could not cook to save his life.

Mr Macho S.N.A.G. has a colourful display of ingredients on the kitchen bench. Yellow packets of Maggi brand instant noodles, pink frankfurter cocktail sausages, red cherry tomatoes, garden salad of various shades of green, a punnet of alfafa (that grass-like stuff), a sophisticated bottle of flavoured extra virgin olive oil and a jar of french mustard. Pepper mill and salt grinder waited by the side. I was impressed.

But soon I realised that all the colourful ingredients were to go into one big bowl. Does it mean that the garden salad will be tossed in with the noodles and drizzled with mustard dressing? Mr Macho S.N.A.G. brightly said "yes"! Before long, the dish was ready.

I closed my eyes in preparation for the weird sensation of crunching garden green with noodles laced with mustard dressing.

Strange. I actually loved the new taste sensation! Spurred on by the eclectic but surprisingly appealing dish, I bought a whole range of mustard sauces - french (which is milder), english (great for medium rare porterhouse steaks) and wholegrain (which looks a little like caviar except its brown and yellow) and experimented.

Here's Mr Macho S.N.A.G's no fuss noodle salad recipe for all you man-in-a-hurry! Impress the woman of your dreams!

Mr Macho S.N.A.G.'s Salad 4 packets of instant noodles One can of cocktail sausages 4 handfuls of mixed salad greens (rocket, lettuce, baby spinach etc) 1 small cucumber 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes 1 punnet of alfafa (optional) (If alfafa is available, I recommend you give it a go. It has a subtle 'cut grass' flavour and adds much freshness to the dish.) 2 tablespoons of french mustard 1 tablespoon of wholegrain mustard (optional) 1 tablespoon of olive oil 2 tablespoon of mayonnaise Juice of two limes (juice it over a tea strainer to get rid of the annoying pips) 1 teaspoon of honey Instructions Cook instant noodles according to the instructions on the package. Refresh under cold water and drain well. Set aside. Discard the flavour sachets. In the meantime, wash and toss dry the salad greens (and the alfafa, if using). It's important to dry the salad greens (in fact, any of the vegetables in the dish) because water clinging on the leaves will prevent the oil-based mustard dressing from coating the leaves, resulting in an uneven flavour. Wash and dry the cherry tomatoes and cut into halves. Wash and dry the cucumber and cut into thin diagonal slices. Cut the cocktail sausages into diagonal halves. In a small bowl, beat together the mustards, olive oil, mayonnaise, lime juice with a fork. Mix in a teaspoon of hot water with the honey to help 'dissolve' the honey and then beat in with the mustard dressing. Roughly cut the instant noodles with a pair of scissors (this helps with mixing in with the salad). Toss in the salad greens, alfafa (if using), cherry tomatoes and cucumber slices. Add the mustard dressing. Toss well. Serves four macho s.n.a.gs.

Variations

Replace olive oil with a combination of sesame oil and macadamia oil. This gives the salad a slight nutty flavour. Toss in a couple of handfuls of toasted walnuts or almonds.

Caroline is a regular contributor who resides in Melbourne, Australia with her cats, Coco and Candy. Caroline loves cooking and entertaining as a past time. Caroline has been known to cook up a storm with fresh and original recipes. One of her claim to fame was to create new and original desserts for some restaurants in Melbourne. Shared Tables is her way of sharing her ideas and recipes so you can share your table with family and friends over food.

Be the first to comment on this article!

Comment on the article and share your thoughts with other readers!