Summer Salad : Shrimp, Crunch and Noodles
Looking for colorful, crunchy, interesting, light, filling, with some proteins, easy to pair with some light white wine? Look no further! Here is your new summer favorite !
Looking for colorful, crunchy, interesting, light, filling, with some proteins, easy to pair with some light white wine? Look no further! Here is your new summer favorite !
It’s summer. In this heat, who really wants to HEAT UP the house or the grill?
A Colorful, rainbowy Salad
I’m in the mood for a salad. Looking for colorful, crunchy, interesting, light, filling, with some proteins, easy to pair with some light white wine? look no further! Here is my summer favorite – and my whole family, including my kids who are 8 to 2 years old. It’s a salad-meal.
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Are the Shrimps steamed?
It can be made with shrimps (my preference) or chicken. And what makes it a steamed dish is the fact that you prepare the shrimps in the steam cooker. Thaw, steam 5-7 minutes according to size, and transfer into the dish. This is that easy ! ( Note that when I count cooking time, I assume your steam cooker is already hot and steaming, That is easily done: turn on the fire under a steam cooker filled with 1.5 or 2 inches of water just before or halfway through cutting vegetables.)
What Kind of Noodles?
I like to add rice noodles, and it took me quite a while to find the noodles I like. These are Maifun rice noodles. I tried with whole rice noodles and it’s alright, but I prefer my white Maifun. You can easily find them at your local asian supermarket.
Note: you could potentially cook the noodles in a bowl of water in the steam cooker, but I don’t because 1) it’s not nutritionally improving the noodles, nor detoxing them since they need to be in water. But it’s feasible because contrary to wheat pasta, the water does not need to be boiling, and the precise timing will not affect the texture much. As a principe, I cook all grains in my steam cooker, especially whole grain, to keep the nutrients. I do not do that for pasta.
Colorful vegetables
As for the vegetables, it HAS to have two different cabbages to make it interesting: Green and napa, or green and red, or napa and red cabbages make for great combinations.. A hint or red cabbage gives the salad color and flair! Add a julienned carrot for the crunch, cucumbers for a different, juicy texture, one thinly sliced red pepper, even grate a raw beet to turn it – and the noodles! – pink! That’s the fun touch to make the kids smile wider.
Special things you’ll need:
Organic Toasted Sesame Oil
Granted, toasting seeds isn’t awesome at keeping their nutritional value. But the real reason we love sesame oil is for is toasted taste. So I tried to find the best of both worlds: organic cold pressed sesame oil.
I chose cold pressed oil because it doesn’t use chemical means to press the oil out, and it destroys the least amount of nutritional benefits.. I prefer organic so you I don’t get the toxic sprays on top.
The normal sesame oils you find in any store or asian stores are usually from toasted sesame. If the oil is light colored, it may be cold pressed but it won’t taste as strongly.
Organic cold pressed oils are a more expensive but you can find it by the gallon, which is the best for the price. Try it and you’ll love it! If like me you are fond of asian style dishes, this is the best oil I’ve found. Depending on consumption level (we use a gallon within two years, which is a good time since oils degrade after two years), buy the right size! Coops like Azure Standard ( I am not an affiliate…yet!) do carry a good oil, and so do your favorite online shops. I love the Kevala brand, which you can buy directly from the brand or from Amazon.
Raw Organic Sesame Seeds
If you use toasted oil, toasting your sesame seeds won’t add much taste to the salad. I like it for the crunch, and the look, and the calcium. Yes! Sesame is very high in bioavailable calcium – in fact, one of the foods with highest amounts of calcium! . And did you know that calcium from vegetable sources (in food) was the most bioavailable to your body, that is, the best absorbed ? The best way to benefit nutrients from seeds you would have a hard time destroying with your bare teeth would be the blend sesame just before meals and sprinkle it on the salad. Sometimes I do, not on this one. And as for many dried foods I use quite a bit of, I buy sesame in bulk, every 1-2 years, at my coop. One of the favorite ways to consume sesame is in Tahini, or a condiment mixing salt with sesame called Gomasio ( I’ll post how I make it soon!)
A mandoline slicer
If you don’t own one, a good knife will do. The slicer cuts thiner, and faster (except for the washing afterwards). You can find one in any good Asian store, or online. I own the Oxo brand one, I can’t speak to any other brand; I like well enough for my needs.
The Steam Cooker: Vitaliseur
NOW the kicker, and what I advocate for the most as a health and cooking efficiency advocate: THE STEAM COOKER!
I use only one: the Vitaliseur ( in English, Vitalizer)was invented is manufactured in France ( I admit my French pride kicks in here).
It Steams Gently
The Vitaliseur was conceived to keep the steam gentle enough to penetrate foods and cook them without giving them a temperature shock.. It cooks at no more than 202°F (under the boiling point), carefully destroying the least possible amount of nutrients, ( ANY cooking methods will destroys some nutrients!).
A Steam Sauna
Cooking in the Vitaliseur will give your foods a sauna session ( = detox!). As the top is not tight as it would be in a pressure cooker, the cooker lets the extra steam come out without pressure.
SO It goes without saying: this is NOT a pressure cooker!
How does it cook so efficiently?
The top is round, enabling the steam to gently flow in circles and get into the foods, the way boiling water couldn’t, or high pressured steam wouldn’t. Meanwhile foods sweat out toxins that fall below the sieve, into the lower the pot. Needless to say, we do not use the bottom water for sauce or soup…
Study the Vitaliseur!
Look it up at https://www.vitaliseurdemarion.fr/officiel/vitaliseur-de-marion/en there is truly nothing as good out there. I’ve been using it for decades. It is very sturdy, made of stainless steel 10/18. My 35 yo first pot ( that my mom handed down to me) just broke, but I am still using it despite the broken handle on top. I’m sentimental like that!
If you ever consider buying one, use my discount “steamedcuisine” (one word, small caps) for 10% off and no European sales tax ( which will be taken off the sales price at check out).
In this recipe, I use the Vitalizer to cook my shrimps!
Now off to work, and Bon appétit!
Rainbow Crunch Shrimp and Rice Noodles Salad
Looking for colorful, crunchy, interesting, light, filling, with some proteins, easy to pair with some light white wine? look no further! Here is your new summer favorite ! and my whole family's, including my kids who are 8 to 2 years old.
Ingredients
Salad ingredients
- Maifun rice noodles, two to three squares of noodles ( one pack has three ) ;
- One pound of medium or large shrimps. Alternatively, you can use thinly sliced chicken breast, that you will cook in the steam cooker for 4-5 minutes.
- optional: handful raw cashews, for garnish.
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, thin sliced;
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds ( make it fun with black and yellow seeds!);
- 2 cups red cabbage, thin sliced ( or a variation with the same amount of napa cabbage);
- one bell pepper, diced
- 1 1/2 english cucumber, diced
- 2 cups green cabbage, thin sliced ( with a mandoline slicer);
- One carrot, julienned or grated;
- optional: 1/4 of a beet, grated or julienned;
Dressing
- 1/4 tsp ginger powder ( or fresh is even better!)
- optional: 1 tbsp coconut aminos or low sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup organic cold pressed toasted sesame oil
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1/3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar (tangy taste) (note that amazon also carries organic rice vinegar! I can't speak to them as I haven't tested them yet)
- Sea salt
- 1 tbsp nut butter ( mix nuts or almond)
Instructions
1. Turn on the steam cooker with about 2 inches of water in the bottom pot. Take the pound of raw shrimps and thaw them in warm water. If shrimps are cooked, do the same. For our family of 6 with little kids I use one pound of medium or large shrimps.
2. Get a pot and heat up about 1 qt of water to cook the rice noodles. Slice the cabbages, transfer to the bowl Julienne/ grate/ use a mandoline slicer to grate the carrot on a thicker mode. Do the same with beet if you will use one.
3. If non organic, peel the cucumber. Cut it lengthwise in 4, then cut the cucumber again in small pieces. Slice the pepper in thin, long slices.
4. Transfer all vegetables to a large serving bowl , and the thinly sliced fresh cilantro.
5. If the steam cooker is hot and abundantly steaming, transfer shrimps in. Thawed shrimps even raw don’t need more than about 3-5 minutes in the cooker. Make sure they don't start shrinking or they may get too chewy. If you let their size decrease too much, they will become tough. Watch them close! I always steam my shrimps, even the precooked one, to make sure no bacteria developed and to remove some of the chemicals and toxins they may add in frozen foods. They will taste better after going through the Vitalizer, I assure you!
6. While shrimps heat up, add the rice noodles into the water .
7. Make the dressing:
You can make it before or after preparing the vegetables, depending on how long you want the dressings ingredients to combine in the bowl.
In a wide, tall bowl or wide mouth mason har, pour olive oil, sesame oil, pressed cloves of garlic, ginger powder, 2 tsp of sea salt and aminos. Tip: I sometimes add less olive oil and replace some of it with cold or expeller pressed canola oil for the omega 3 and vitamin E
Mix well with a spoon. Let sit 10 minutes if you can for a little while for the garlic enzymes to develop and its taste expands! Add the nut butter. Grab your immersion blender and blend the dressing !
8. After about 5 or more minutes, transfer shrimps into the salad bowl, then strain the noodles, rinse with cold water, and transfer into the salad bowl. Add the sesame seeds to the salad. Use salad tongues to mix before adding the dressing. Add the dressing and mix again.
9. To decorate, add the handful of cashews, one tbsp of black sesame seeds and a few leaves of cilantro. I do not add soy or aminos in my salad, but my husband and kids like it . To add it directly to the salad, add about 1/3 of a cup soy or aminos over the bowl after mixing the dressing. You are free to try it both ways!
Notes
NB: I tend to UNDER salt. But with soy and aminos, more salt is added to the salad. My policy is, it’s easier to add more in your plate than remove from the dish. Have a salt shaker at hand on the table as you eat, and you’ll be fine! Please leave a comment if you like or dislike, let me know if something is off in the recipe. I made this many times, but I don’t always closely monitor measurements so if something is off, I’d love to correct myself. Thank you! Bon appétit!
Nutrition Information
Yield
10Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 466Total Fat 34gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 27gCholesterol 14mgSodium 195mgCarbohydrates 31gFiber 5gSugar 4gProtein 12g
These calculations are computer generated and not completely accurate. Your body takes not only energy into accounts, but nutrients and their quality.
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