The reason I was looking for scallions (and radishes) is that today I had a second go at "inventing" a Chinese-style noodle salad. I didn't get the scallions from Kenya, and I didn't find radishes, so I'll have to go and look for them again tomorrow. (Unfortunately the only place where I know I can find radishes is Tesco, and it's a drag. But I can get the scallions from the Chinese supermarket downstairs.)

So, the recipe -- mostly for myself, to remember how I did it. The result wasn't perfect, but it was nice enough. There will be more experiments...

First, I've cooked one "brick" of noodles (about 50 grams?) in salt water[1] -- all broken up, which seems simpler than cutting them up once they're cooked, but causes a severe mess with bits of raw noodles all over the kitchen. Maybe it would be easier to cut them up afterwards...

Then I've marinaded the noodles for about 40 minutes. I didn't do this in yesterday's version, and I think it works better (but it means more pre-planning: yesterday's version was very quick food.) After chilling and draining the noodles, I've poured some soy sauce, sesame oil and rice vinegar[2] on them, and left them sitting. [3]

After marinading, I've added the other ingredients and condiments. Mostly, what I happened to have sitting around the kitchen...

- A large quantity of fresh beansprouts
- 2 chopped scallions
- 4 chopped radishes
- Some chopped Szechuan Preserved Vegetable (this brand is nicer than the usual one, I'll have to keep the packaging to find it again)
- No fresh chillies [4]
- A couple of chopped water chestnuts [5]

Adjusted salt, added some ground black pepper and, rather important, a couple of teaspoons of sugar.

Mixed and et. Quite nice.

Other ingredients that could have worked (but I didn't have): Rice wine, as mentioned in the note. Sweetcorn? Red peppers. Grated carrot? More vinegar. Different varieties of Chinese preserves. Nuts of some kind? Or maybe toasted sunflower seeds.

[1] I usually don't salt the water, but I think for the salad it works better.
[2] Note to self: use more vinegar. Rice vinegar is really milder than I expect. I don't need to be afraid.
[3] Some rice wine would probably have worked very well. Unfortunately, I've run out, and the Chinese supermarket downstairs doesn't have any, probably for licensing reasons. I'll have to get it from the Asia Market next time I'm around there.
[4] Note to self: a whole Thai chilli was a bit too much for a salad, even chopped really small. On the other hand, today's version did lack a bit of zing. Maybe I should try some wasabi in the dressing?
[5] They don't add much, and wouldn't have been missed if they hadn't been there. Plenty of crunch already in this salad. Maybe it would be different if they'd been marinaded with the noodles?