Asian Lo Mein salad

We went to a housewarming party over Memorial Day weekend for one of Tim's coworkers. Another coworker's wife brought this amazing pasta salad, and I quickly asked for the recipe.

Jen (many of my blog readers know her as the Jen the dog-collar maker) works at a beachfront hotel, and they serve this salad at weddings held at the hotel. She said the chefs put it in cute little boxes with an edible flower for presentation. We didn't get all fancy like that :)

I craved the pasta all weekend, and on that Tuesday night Tim and I made a big batch to eat that week.

Ingredients:

1 lb. lo mein noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled (can also use Udon noodles)
1 red onion, julienned then chopped into approx. 1/2 inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, prepared same as onion
4 scallions, chopped (just the green stalk of the scallion)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/8 cup sugar
Cilantro, handful, chopped
1 tsp garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons Sweet Thai Chili Sauce (in Asian section in tall glass bottle)
1 cup bean sprouts
1 tsp dry mustard, bloomed (Put 1 tsp of dry mustard in a small dish and mix with a small amount of water to make a thick paste. Let sit for approx. 1/2 hour and it should "bloom". Jen and I didn't exactly get it to bloom, but we added the paste to the salad and it turned out fine.)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients and let marinate for 24 hours.

Notes: We ended up pretty much dicing the veggies, didn't use the bean sprouts, and Jen has made the sugar optional, too. It has a great flavor - refreshing with a little kick - and makes a good amount, so it was part of my lunch all week. Jen made a double batch for the party and it was eaten up like crazy.