College Student Recipe: Spicy Cold Peanut Noodle Salad

Take that dorm kitchen (or hot plate!) for a test run with this simple, yet upgraded take on your usual cup of noodles. This recipe uses standard pad thai rice noodles, but you can really use any noodle they have on hand — ramen, buckwheat, or even linguine will all work. You can also sub in any chili flake or chili oil you have on hand to give this a bit of takeout-style spice. 

Spicy Cold Peanut Noodle Salad Recipe

Yield: 2 servings
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 8-ounce pack Lotus Foods Pad Thai Rice Noodles
1 cucumber, thinly sliced (celery also works!)
1 carrot, thinly sliced (bell peppers also work!)
2 scallions, thinly sliced (if you don’t have scallions, sub ¼ red onion, thinly sliced)
½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped 
2 tablespoons Thrive Market Organic Creamy Peanut Butter (or nut butter of choice — almond and cashew would also be great)
1 tablespoon Thrive Market Organic Coconut Aminos
1 ½ tablespoons Thrive Market Organic Rice Vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice (about half a lime)
2 teaspoons Eden Foods Toasted Sesame Oil
1-3 teaspoons Fly by Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp (or chili powder)

Optional: 
Tinned fish (like tuna, salmon, mackerel, or smoked oysters) or leftover rotisserie chicken, chopped

Add your favorite salad greens to make a crunchier, fuller salad 

Instructions:

Thinly slice the carrot, cucumber, and scallion, and prepare your herbs. Combine all, and set aside.

Prepare noodles according to the package. When done, make sure to rinse well under cold running water and drain. 

While the noodles are cooking, prepare the sauce. In a medium mixing bowl, add the nut butter, coconut aminos, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, sesame oil, chili of choice and whisk well until smooth. Taste for desired spiciness and add more if needed. 

Add the cooked, rinsed, and drained noodles to the bowl with peanut sauce. Mix until noodles are fully coated.

Add the prepared veggies and herbs to the saucy noodle bowl, then toss to combine. 

If you’re adding protein or salad greens, toss them in now.  

*Note: This noodle salad holds up well in the fridge for 5 days, and it also packs well in a to-go container for a pre-class meal.

Recipe credit: Aubrey Devin
Food photography: Elisha Knight