What to serve for lunch if you don’t have time to prepare food right before your guests arrive because you will be busy tending to other business in your life (or in this case, you were playing tennis somewhere)?  Making dishes ahead are your best bet.  I find that make ahead noodle salads are tasty and convenient to prepare.  While trying to use a staple fall ingredient, I went with Asian noodle salad with roasted eggplant.  To add protein to the dish, I served it with hardboiled eggs, which are easy to prepare ahead.

Recipe for Asian noodle salad with eggplant:

Roast a large eggplant (cut into one inch pieces) in vegetable oil in oven at 400 degrees until cooked, about 20-30 minutes.

Boil noodles (16 oz. dried noodles) and drain.  You can use thin spaghetti or soba noodles.  Follow cooking instructions on noodle package. 

Chop 3-4 stalks of scallions (both green and white part) and cilantro (1/2 cup).  If you do not like cilantro, you can substitute Italian parsley.

Prepare dressing by combining the below ingredients and simmer them in a pan in low heat until sugar is dissolved.

            1/4 cup vegetable oil

            1/3 cup soy sauce

            1/3 cup sugar

            3 tablespoons oyster sauce

            3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

            3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

            1 tablespoon minced garlic

            1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes

Set aside dressing and cooked noodles until ready to toss right before serving.

Sprinkle scallions and cilantro.

Sprinkle 3 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds.

Optional:

Serve salad with hardboiled eggs.

Cut hardboiled eggs into halves.

Add a drop of soy sauce to halved eggs.

Sprinkle fried onions, chopped scallions and cilantro.  You can buy a container of fried onions at the Asian market.  Some grocery stores may carry it.

Sprinkle black pepper and add a drop of Sriracha sauce on halved eggs.