Vietnamese Noodle Salad - The Ultimate Summer Side Dish
During the sweltering summer months, the last thing anyone wants to do is be bent over a hot stove cooking an elaborate meal. No, summer is meant for light, fresh, recipes that (most importantly) require little to no cooking, unless it involves grilling of course!
We’ve come up with the perfect salad recipe that requires zero cooking (yes, you read that right) and that you’ll no doubt be making it all summer long. So, without further ado, here’s our Vietnamese Noodle Salad recipe.
Here's How to Make the Best Vietnamese Noodle SALAD
Ingredients for Vietnamese Noodle Salad:
- Thin Vermicelli rice noodles
- Cumber
- Carrots
- Thai bird eye chillies or jalapeno peppers
- Yellow onion
- Purple cabbage
The dressing:
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 long red chili, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Toppings:
- Mint
- Cilantro
- Thai basil leaves
- Any sort of fresh herbs works really well tbh
- Crispy shallots
While we've given precise measurements, feel free to customize this salad however you like. Choose your favorite veggies, add protein, use which ever noodles you have - get creative!
Instructions for SANG's Vietnamese noodle salad
1. Soak the Noodles
The first step for making the best Vietnamese noodle salad is by prepping your noods! Soak your vermicelli noodles in a bowl of hot water, until soft. After about 1 - 2 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water to stop the noodles from overcooking, and let them sit in the cold water until you finish prepping the other ingredients.
2. Prepare the Vegetables
Thinly slice/julienne the vegetables for the salad. If you do have a mandoline, we deff recommend you use it because it’ll make this whole process a lot faster – but watch out for your fingers because those blades are no joke! But feel free to use a knife if you have some pent-up aggression you need to take out on some vegetables or if you want to hone your knife skills, don’t worry we’re not here to judge!
The goal is to have the veggies thinly sliced so that they'll mix well in this Vietnamese noodle salad.
3. Make the Dressing
Now, it’s time to make the dressing, which comes together super fast! All you have to do is finely mince the garlic and chili and combine them with these ingredients. Feel free to add some water to dilute it slightly.
For our Vietnamese noodle salad dressing we were heavily inspired by nước chấm, a popular dipping sauce in Vietnam.
Nước chấm is served alongside several delicious dishes like fried Vietnamese spring rolls, Bún Thịt Nướng (grilled pork with rice noodles), and Bánh xèo (savory crispy pancakes).
On a side note, we LOVE nước chấm, because it’s made with a bunch of pantry staples but it’s an instant flavor bomb. Sweet, tangy, and spicy, it’s great as a salad dressing, marinade or dipping sauce.
One thing that's not negotiable is using herbs! Vietnamese dishes are usually topped with loads of fresh, crunchy herbs that add so much flavor & brightness!
4. Assemble & Enjoy!
Finally, assemble all your ingredients in a big bowl, drizzle the dressing over, mix well and enjoy! If you want to make this a whole meal, you could also include any protein. Grilled beef, tofu or salmon would work well, but we just shred up a store-bought rotisserie chicken and call it a day. Top with crispy shallots for an extra crunch.
Conclusion
This salad is so light, fresh, and crisp and it’s the perfect accompaniment to any BBQ or any summer dinner. It also travels well, so we deff recommend bringing it to picnics, beach days, or have it meal prepped and enjoy throughout the week!
We hope you try it this summer and don’t forget to pair it with Sang coffee to experience the flavors of Vietnam!