Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad

I think sweltering is word one can’t really understand until you are standing outside on a 95 degree day.  I can say the word sweltering in the middle of the Chicago winter but it would mean nothing. NOTHING. You have to experience the back sweat or it’s just another word that makes you think “hot”. This week we hit sweltering weather for the first time and I was happy about it. We’ve had so much rain and nasty summer weather that I say BRING ON THE BACK SWEAT.

Now that I’ve thoroughly grossed you out let’s go ahead and talk about food. Let’s talk about how I’m going to sell you on a recipe I just posted. Awesome sauce – remember that? I keep on waiting for somebody to call me out on the fact that I’m publishing one recipe 7 different ways but until that happens I’m just gonna keep on doing it. No shame in my game.

Awesome sauce makes everything better. This time we are tossing it with a bit of almond butter and freshly grated ginger. It will be silky smooth and coat ALL the noodles and ALL the veggies. Then we sprinkle on some roasted peanuts and cilantro and we will want to eat ALL the noodles and ALL the raw veggies. HUZZAH. And just like that we’re eating health food without turning the stove on and loving it.  Take that – sweltering.

(I apologize for the profusive use of caps and back sweat mentions in this food blog post. That’s just what I was feeling today.

The vegetables used in this salad can be whatever you’d like or already have on hand. Have a bell pepper and some cabbage in your fridge? – that will work. Sub in chicken for the shrimp and/or edamame if you prefer. Not spicy enough? – throw in some extra peppers or drizzle on siracha. If you have leftover nuac chom sauce serve it on the side.

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad

 Prep time 20 mins

Total time 20 mins

Author: Nicola

Serves: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• ½ cup awesome sauce (nuac cham )
• ¼ cup almond or peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 8 ounces dried vermicelli rice noodles
• Toasted sesame oil for tossing with the noodles
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into half moons
• ½ pound green beans, sliced on the diagonal, boiled briefly, 3-5 minutes, and then cooled under water
• 2 medium carrots or 4 small, julienned
• 1 bunch green onions, white and tender green portions
• Garnishes: chopped toasted peanuts or cashews and cilantro

Instructions

1. Whisk together the sauce, almond or peanut butter and ginger until smooth. Add a tablespoon or two of water if the sauce it thick and not pourable.
2. Cook rice noodles according to package directions tasting every minute or so. My brown rice noodles only took a minute or two. Rinse under cold water and toss immediately with some toasted sesame oil to prevent the noodles from sticking to each other.
3. Toss noodles, veggies and sauce together. I use my hands.

Notes

Wine Pairing: A fruity, aromatic white. We paired it with viognier and it worked perfectly.