Cellophane Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Ingredients:

For the dressing:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder
2 garlic cloves, minced

For the salad:
4 ounces matchstick-cut carrots
4 ounces dry bean threads
1 cup shredded romaine lettuce
3/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup snow peas, trimmed and cut into 1/2″ pieces
1/2 cup diced roasted red bell pepper
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts, divided

Procedure:

To make the dressing:

In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, water, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ginger, oil, red pepper, five-spice powder and garlic.

To make the salad:

In a large pot of boiling salt water, add carrots and noodles - cook 1 minute then drain well. Add noodles and carrots to a large bowl. Toss in romaine, green onions, snow peas, red bell pepper, cilantro and mint - mix lightly to combine. Drizzle dressing over the noodle mixture and add 2 tablespoons peanuts. Gently mix together. Divide remaining peanuts over each portion. Makes 4-6 depending on portion size.