Asian vermicelli salad with peanuts

Asian vermicelli salad with peanuts

asian vermicelli salad with peanuts lunch

This Asian vermicelli salad with crushed peanuts is pretty much what we’ve been living on for the entire summer.

As its still pretty hot here (so much so that I’m planning to top up my tan on Saturday, yay!), I’m not about to stop making it just yet so I thought I would share this simple recipe with you. It’s easy and quick to make and really flexible.

Use any vegetables you like and if you want to make it even more substantial, feel free to add some baked or fried tofu on top.

It’s filling and light at the same time. It makes a perfect lunch box if you want to take it to work, to the park or to the beach.

asian vermicelli salad with peanuts ingredients

asian vermicelli salad with peanuts close up

asian vermicelli salad with peanuts

asian vermicelli salad with peanuts portion

serves
2-3
PREP
15 min
COOKING
2 min
serves
2-3
PREPARATION
15 min
COOKING
2 min
INGREDIENTS

SALAD

  • 125 g vermicelli rice noodles
  • a wedge of red cabbage, thinly shredded
  • 2 small cucumbers (I used Lebanese as they have thinner skin), sliced into half moons
  • 1 Romano pepper, sliced thinly
  • 2 small spring onions, sliced thinly
  • a handful of mint AND/OR coriander
  • ¼ cup roasted (unsalted) peanuts OR cashews

DRESSING

  • ¼ cup / 4 tbsp tamari (for GF version) OR soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar or lime juice
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (for flavour)
  • 1 tbsp neutral tasting oil
  • 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
  • 2-3 tsp hot chilli paste (I used Indonesian sambal oelek), adjust to taste
METHOD
  1. Prepare vermicelli noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Mine required plunging into boiled water for 2 minutes and then refreshing under a cold tap. Set aside and let them cool down.
  2. Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.
  3. Crush roasted peanuts (or cashews) in a pestle & mortar. If you cannot get roasted unsalted nuts, you can always toast raw nuts on a hot frying pan.
  4. Once the noodles are cold, place them in a large bowl and toss vegetables, spring onions and herbs through them. Use your hands to distribute all ingredients evenly. Finally massage the dressing into the salad.
  5. Divide between two bowls and top with crushed nuts.
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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
395
20%
sugars
14 g
15%
fats
16 g
23%
saturates
2 g
12%
proteins
10 g
19%
carbs
56 g
21%
*per serving
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5.0
10 reviews, 22 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Tiffany:
Made this the other night and ended up using pistachios instead because it’s what I had and it was still good!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Glad to hear that you enjoyed it! x Ania
Catherine:
Done with Thai and Vietnamese takeaways now I’ve found this recipe. So authentically tasty and fresh. The exact taste we had on our travels. So chuffed this recipe is now in our life. Will be pulling this one out time and time again. Thank you for sharing! Worked perfectly with sweet chilli pork belly skewers.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Delighted you enjoyed it so much, Catherine! Thank you. x Ania
Anouck:
how long does this last in the fridge?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Anouck,
    Sorry for the delay but I am on holidays at the moment. It will last for a few days but it's nicest on the day it's made as the longer it sits around the soggier it gets. If you want to make it in advance, store the noodles, the veg and the dressing separately and mix up an hour or so before serving. Hope this helps. Ania
I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for years - it’s one of my favourite salad recipes of all time! We always add crispy tofu or shrimp for a protein. The dressing is to die for!!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, KM. I am delighted to hear that this recipe has served you so well and thanks for taking the time to review. x Ania
ginette brouillet:
Bonjour. Je trouve vos recettes merveilleuses. Toutefois j'ai un petit problème lorsque je cherche une recette spécifique. Je fais exactement ce qui est mentionné mais cela ne fonctionne pas. Je trouve un peu ennuyeux de passer au travers de toutes les recettes pour trouver celle que je veux. Exemple j'ai indiqué bouillon curcuma et gingembre, j'ai fait entrée tel qu'indiqué et rien n'est advenu. Merci de me répondre. Ginette.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Ginette,
    Thanks for your message. I don't think my French is good enough to reply to you in French, I'm afraid. I understand you are saying you have trouble with the search on my site, are you searching in French too? It only works in English as the website content is in English. I just did a little test and put 'turmeric' in the search and ginger and turmeric broth came up straight away. Hope this helps! Ania
Isabelle:
I love, love, LOVE this salad. Probably my favourite one of all time. I decided to leave a review because I've made this recipe many times with various substitutions/alterations and hope that this info might help someone else out :
- firstly, I make this without any nuts on it pretty much all of the time because they're too expensive for me to afford at the moment, even though this dish is absolutely DELISH with a bit of crunch. If you don't have any nuts on hand, please don't let it stop you from making this!!
- I've made this with julienned/shredded carrot instead of red cabbage when I didn't have any on hand, and have also made it with red cabbage but using carrot instead of cucumber when I was out of that ingredient. If you're planning on eating this over a few days, I HIGHLY recommend subbing out the cucumber for carrot - the salad maintains it's freshness for much longer and doesn't get soggy.
- I have made this with both mint, coriander and a mix of both before. It definitely tastes best with a mix of both, however the mint does get soggy after a day while the coriander seems to maintain its freshness for up to 3 (possibly longer, but I've usually finished this salad beforehand - it makes around 3 standard portions or 2 large)
- lastly, instead of sambal I use sriracha and it tastes AMAZING in this salad. Recently I have also been omitting the extra tablespoon of neutral oil and find that the dressing tastes much stronger this way and the flavour of the sesame oil really shines through!
Thanks so much for sharing this lovely recipe! :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thanks so much for this review, Isabelle. You have clearly poured so much heart into it and I'm delighted that this salad has been such a favourite of yours for such a long time. I hope that your high praise will encourage someone to give it a go and that they will enjoy it as much as you have. Ania
vicky:
Was a big hit at our ladies lunch. Will be making this again soon.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Great to hear, Vicky! Thank you for letting me know that you and your guests enjoyed it! Ania
Sophie:
Best salad recipe ever. It’s a fam favourite and in my top 3 most requested dishes. We have a young toddler so we leave out the chilli paste and it still tastes amazing. I love that it doesn’t use fish sauce which can be a bit overpowering and gives me tummy issues. We tend to have it with some hard tofu that’s been pan fried until crisp! . My hubby loves to take it to work in his esky because often the building sites have no microwaves. Keeps well for almost 3 days! Thanks so much.
    Ania
    Ania:
    My pleasure! I'm delighted to hear that! Ania
Nicky:
This is the best salad dressing ever!!! We love this salad and have made it many times now. So simple and delicious and you can change it up to suit different tastes though the roasted peanuts are an absolute must! Sooo good :D
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, Nicky! I'm pleased to hear that you enjoy it so much! Ania
Cortney:
This was super easy and one of the most delicious meals we've had!
    Ania
    Ania:
    That's awesome to hear, Cortney! Thank you for a lovely comment! Ania
Lindsey Zucker:
This couldn't be any easier!!! I use the same bowl for softening the noodles as I do serving the dish so there is little clean up!! Sometimes I buy precut veggies so there is no excuse not to make dinner!!! And it's so yummy and it is CHEAP!!! Thanks for a great great recipe!!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you, Lindsey! That's great to hear :) Ania
Nicole:
This looks amazing! How far in advance can I make this?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Nicole. You can prep all the components a few hours ahead and keep them in air-tight containers in the fridge, but I would not assemble until you're ready to eat. Hope that answers your question :) Ania
Emilia:
Świetna jest ta sałatka! Robię już chyba 6 raz i smakuje mi coraz bardziej. Pozdrowienia z Holandii.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Bardzo się cieszę, dziękuję ze miłe słowa! Pozdrawiam również :) Ania
Susan @ Culinary Envy:
Wow! Almost too gorgeous to eat! I did say almost. I will have one with a Thai Ice Tea please! Love the photos and can hardly wait to try the recipe.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thanks Susan! Hope'll love it! :)
Julia:
Yum! This looks so bright and colourful. And your food photography is stunning. Will definitely need to try this some day.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, Julia. Yes, please do try it - it comes together so quickly and is perfect for those days when your fridge is almost empty :)
Judy:
I think I will have to make a vat of this dressing. I use a similar blend on my tofu stir fry, but it never occurred to me to use it cold on rice noodles in a salad. This is why I need and love your site so much. :) And this is such an easy salad to throw together with fresh goodies from the garden. Thanks for another winner!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thanks so much, Judy! It's so lovely to hear! x
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