---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.04

      Title: Chinese Noodle Salad W/ Roasted Eggplant
 Categories: Appetizers, Chinese, Ethnic, Healthy and, Salads
      Yield: 6 servings


  :          The Noodles & The Marinade
        7 TB low sodium soy sauce
        3 TB balsamic vinegar
        3 TB sugar -- or more to taste
    2 1/2 ts red pepper oil
        8 ea scallions -- mostly white
  :          part,
  :          thinly sliced
        3 TB cilantro -- chopped
       14 oz Chinese noodles
  :          The Eggplant & The Vegetable
  :          Garnish
        1 lb Japenese eggplant
        1 TB ginger root -- 1 1/2 oz.
  :          peeled &
  :          minced
        1    clove garlic -- finely
  :          chopped
  :          Reserved Marinade, from
  :          above
        4 oz snow peas -- strings removed
  :          cut
  :          in narrow strips
      1/2 lb mung bean sprouts
        3 TB sesame seeds
        1 ea carrot -- medium size, cut
  :          in
  :          jullienne
  :          Cilantro leaves -- for
  :          garnish

  Begin by making the marinade. Combine all the
  ingredients (except the noodles) in a bowl, stir them
  together until the sugar is dissolved. Next, bring a
  large pot of water to a boil for the noodles. While it
  is heating, gentl y pull apart the strands of noodles
  with your fingers, loosening and fluffing them as you
  do so. Add the noodles to the boiling water without
  any salt, and give them a quick stir with a fork or a
  pair of chopsticks. Cook briefly until they are done
  but no t overly soft, a few minutes at most.
  Immediately pour them into a colander and rinse them
  in cold water to stop the cooking. Shake the colander
  vigorously to get rid of as much water as possible,
  and put the noodles into a bowl. Stir the marinade
  again; then pour half of it over the noodles and toss
  the m with your hands to distribute the marinade. Set
  the remaining marinade aside. If the noodles aren't
  to be used for a while, cover them with plastic and
  refrigerate them. The flavors, as well as the heat in
  the red pepper oil, will develop as the noodles sit.
  Preheat the oven to 400°F. Pierce the eggplants in
  several places and bake them until they are soft and
  their skins have shriveled, about 20 minutes,
  depending on their size. Turn them over after 10
  minutes so they will bake evenly. When the eggplants
  are done, remove them to a cutting board and slice
  them in half lengthwise. When they are cool enough to
  handle, peel the skin away from the flesh. Don't worry
  about any small pieces of skin that are difficult to
  remove - the flecks of dark purple - brown are
  pretty. Shred the eggplants, gently tearing them into
  1/4 - inch strips.  Add the ginger and garlic to the
  reserved marinade, then the eggplant strips. Turn the
  pieces over several times to make sure all the
  surfaces are well coated, and set them aside. Bring a
  quart of water to a boil with a teaspoon of salt.
  Blanch the snow peas until they are bright green;
  then remove them with a strainer and rinse them in
  cool water. Cut them into long, narrow strips and set
  them aside. Next, put the sprouts in the water and
  cook them for about 30 seconds. Pour them into a
  colander, rinse them with cold water, and lay them on
  a clean kitchen towel to dry. Roast the sesame seeds
  in a pan until they are lightly colored and smell
  toasty. If the noodles have been refrigerated, allow
  them to come to room temperatu re; then toss them with
  the eggplant strips and half the sesame seeds. Mound
  them on a platter, distribute the carrots, snow peas,
  and mung bean sprouts over the noodles, and garnish
  with the remaining sesame seeds and the leafy branches
  of cilantro. Present the salad like this, layered and
  laced with the colorful garnishes, either on a single
  large platter or on individual plates. Once served,
  guests can toss the noodles and vegetables together
  to thoroughly mingle the different colors, textures,
  and tastes. This salad is a combination of recipes
  that were suggested to us by the China scholar and
  cook, Barbara Tropp, author of The Modern Art of
  Chinese Cooking. She thought they would be
  particularly well suited to our vegetarian menu, and
  they are.

  Variations: Instead of sesame seeds, use roasted
  peanuts or cashew nuts. Black sesame seeds can also
  be mixed with the white. In spring, blanched asparagus
  tips can be used in place of the eggplants, and long
  red or white radishes, thinly sliced, then slivered,
  can be included among the garnishes.

  Serves 4 to six.

  Recipe By     : Greens Cookbook/Eric Rose

-----