Cold noodle salads are just the best invention for summer lunches, dinners and picnics. This particular one is absolutely refreshing, fragrant and filled with quintessential Asian flavors. It’s an oldie at our house and I tend to vary the ingredients based on what I’ve got on hand. Sometimes I’ll substitute prawns for the chicken, other times I’ll make it only with vegetables and then serve a blackened salmon on the side…or not because it’s also great as a full plant-based meal.
It’s also quite a crowd-please and definitely one you can make in advance, so a perfect buffet dinner candidate.
Tip: Careful not to overcook the vermicelli noodles otherwise it becomes a watery disaster
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- A 200g-package brown rice vermicelli noodles
- 2 cups of shredded cooked chicken breasts (I usually take the meat from half a leftover roast chicken)
- 2 cups snap peas
- 2 carrots, julienned
- 3 lebanese/persian cucumbers, seeded and julienned
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 cup of chopped chives
- 1 small mango, peeled and diced
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
Phase 1 dressing
- 4 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 tbsp groundnut oil
- 1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce
Phase 2 dressing
- 3/4 cup cashews
- 1/4 cup tamari sauce
- 4 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 2 tbsp sriracha
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp filtered water
- Juice of 1 lime
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Drop the snap peas in the boiling water for a minute. Drain and rince with ice cold water. When cooled, chop them into 1 cm slices and set aside.
- Make Phase 1 dressing: whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl and set aside
- Cook noodles as per package directions – usually this means putting in boiling water for no more than a few minutes
- Once the noodles are cooked, drain and rince in cold water. Once well drained, place in a large bowl.
- Pour half of the Phase 1 dressing on the noodles and toss delicately until they are all well coated
- Add the snap peas, carrots, cucumbers, cilantro, chives, bean sprouts and mangos to the noodles and toss lightly
- Top with chicken and set aside, covered in the fridge
- Make Phase 2 dressing: in a small blender place all the Phase 2 dressing ingredients and blitz until smooth. If you find it too thick, feel free to add a little bit of water. Set aside until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, sprinkle with sesame seeds, drizzle with cashew dressing and serve the other dressing on the side
