Wookiee Hut Cuisine presents:
 Glass Noodle Salad
by SuSu, Sparticus, MaceVindaloo

Padmé Amidala Skywalker was secretly pregnant, but anyone who observed her diet would have figured out her fickle appetite was likely due to cravings and aversions of one thing or another. She was never particularly fond of consuming meat; being pregnant, the mere sight or smell of meat made her queasy. She didn't eat much, so she needed every bite she did eat to provide her with high quality nutrition for herself and her growing baby.

C3PO was not programmed to understand why his mistress's belly was growing, but he did observe her moodiness. He was programmed by his master Anakin to take care of Padmé, so the 'droid observed carefully and saw that she could regularly consume vegetable protein in the form of noodles made from beans. She also liked uncooked vegetables, cut thinly to simulate the noodle shapes, with some sharp spicy flavors thrown in. These things would always please her and he could count on her eating this mixture regularly, in adequate quantities.

However, he noted that she would vacillate on the sauce. Sometimes she'd want a mild sauce with a slight nuttiness. Other times, she wanted the nuttiness amped up. And yet other times, she wanted it hot-sweet-sour-salty all at once! So C3PO made sure to keep the three variations she tended to like. And even if she changed her mind after the dressing was tossed into the salad, C3PO would simply wrap it up and keep it cold — till the next time she changed her mind and wanted that variation instead of whatever she said she wanted ...

  • 2½ oz / 75 g glass noodles (also called cellophane or green/mung bean noodles) OR rice vermicelli
  • bowl of hot water
  • 1 large carrot, peeled, julienned
  • 1 rib celery, sliced thinly crosswise
  • handful sugarsnap peas or stringbeans, cut thinly on the diagonal
  • 1 cucumber, peeled, deseeded, julienned
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1-inch / 2½ cm slice of fresh ginger, peeled, minced
  • handful of fresh mint, or parsley, or cilantro
  • 1 cup Nut Butter Sauce or Chili Lime Sauce or Mild Miso Sauce, or more as desired
  • salt, to taste
  • pepper, to taste
  • 1 cup chopped peanuts or other nuts
Soak the glass noodles in too much hot water for a minute or so, till they are hydrated and pliant. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water. Cut the noodles into roughly 2-inch / 5-cm pieces. Toss in a large bowl with carrots, celery, sugarsnap peas, garlic, ginger, mint / parsley / cilantro till combined well. Add Nut Butter Sauce or Chili Lime Sauce or Mild Miso Sauce and toss. Taste, add salt and pepper, to taste.

If desired, store covered a few hours or overnight to let the flavors develop a bit. Store in a cool place, but not a refrigerator, which will be too cold and congeal the noodles. If you do end up having to store it in a refrigerator, you can microwave to heat a minute or two, and toss the salad again with fresh chopped herbs.

To finish the salad, garnish with sprigs of herbs that you've chopped into the salad before, and chopped nuts.

Serves 4 as a meal, up to 10 or 12 as a side dish.

    Nut Butter Sauce
  • 1 cup chunky peanut butter or almond butter
  • hot sauce, to taste
  • soy sauce, to taste
  • 1 lemon or lime, zest and juice
  • 1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
  • salt, to taste
  • hot water, to taste
In a bowl, mix the nut butter, hot sauce, soy sauce, lemon or lime juice and zest, salt, and hot water with a fork till smooth. Adjust the amount of hot water till the sauce has achieved the texture of heavy cream.

    Chili Lime Sauce
  • 1 lime, zest and juice
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce (nuoc nam)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 small hot red chili, sliced very thinly or minced
In a bowl, beat together the lime juice, lime zest, fish sauce, sugar, and red chilis. If you prefer, put all the ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake hard to combine.

    Mild Miso Sauce
  • ½ cup red or white miso
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • ½ cup hot water
In a bowl, mix the miso, soy sauce, and hot water with a fork till smooth. Adjust the amount of miso and hot water till it's got a texture slightly thicker than milk.
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