Avocado noodle salad with gochujang dressing

What a roller-coaster of a week it’s been, from the saddest of days saying goodbye to my beloved Granny who has now left this life, to the very next day being awarded the Best Editorial Recipe Writing award at The Foodies – NZ Food Media Awards for my work in Cuisine Magazine. Throw a sick child (home most of the week from school) into the mix and that has been my week. Talk about an emotional mess.

Today is the first day I managed to sit down and catch my breath and it dawned on me it’s been awhile since I’ve stopped in here to share a recipe! Reoccurring theme these days, I know. While I had hoped to share a few nourishing cooler weather recipes over the winter months, my spare time these days has been limited. So instead I’m going to share a recipe that’s possibly being a bit hopeful for warmer days, but if you’re anything like me, you don’t need to much convincing to down a bowl of spicy sesame-laced noodles, anytime of the year. One thing that it’s definitely too early for is cucumbers, so if like me you refuse to buy them out of season unless absolutely necessary (cue desperate kid cravings for sushi mid-winter!), just leave them out. And as suggested below, if you’re wanting to turn this into more of a substantial meal, serve with some grilled tofu. This dressing is one you’ll be coming back to all summer long, I know I will be.

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Avocado noodle salad with gochujang dressing

Perfectly ripe avocado, slippery noodles and fresh herbs pair perfectly with a spicy sesame oil laced dressing made using Korean gochujang paste. You’ll find thin dried rice noodles at Asian supermarkets, along with the gochujang paste and toasted sesame oil too. If you eat gluten-free, make sure you check the ingredients on the gochujang paste as some contain wheat flour. To make this into a more substantial meal, serve with chunks of pan-fried or roasted tofu.

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1/2 packet (approx. 200g) thin dried rice noodles
• 1/2 telegraph cucumber sliced into thin strips
• a generous handful coriander leaves and tender stems roughly chopped
• 1 spring onion (shallot/scallion) finely sliced
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds lightly toasted
• 1 perfectly ripe avocado quartered + sliced thinly

Gochujang dressing

• 1/4 cup (60ml) gochujang paste gluten-free if needed
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• the juice 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons brown rice malt syrup
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• salt to taste

Instructions

• Place rice noodles in a large bowl and cover with freshly boiled water, set aside 20-25 minutes or until soft. Drain well.
• To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Season with salt, to taste.
• Mix half the dressing through the drained noodles, along with the cucumber, coriander, spring onion and sesame seeds. Arrange in bowls, top with avocado slices and scatter with extra sesame seeds and serve with extra dressing on the side. Any leftover dressing will keep in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Notes

This recipe was originally created for and featured in Nourish Magazine.