The first time I had a spicy, cold rice noodle salad, it wasn't the bold flavors that caught me by surprise, but the strange and addictive texture.

Spicy Rice Noodle Salad

(6.75 ounce) package thin rice noodles

garlic,

rice vinegar

fish sauce

Asian chili paste (sambal),

brown sugar

salt

green onions, chopped

carrots,

herbs

peanuts

sesame oil

chicken thighs

Fresno chile peppers,

Place noodles in a large bowl and cover with hot water. Stir and allow to soak until softened, about 15 minutes. Drain and rinse thoroughly.


Combine garlic, rice vinegar, fish sauce, chile paste, brown sugar and salt in a bowl. Stir in green onions, carrots, basil, mint, and cilantro. Toss in rice noodles, peanuts, and sesame oil. Allow to sit for 30 minutes to absorb flavors. Garnish with additional green onions and peanuts. If using, top with grilled chicken and Fresno chiles.


Cilantro is a love-it or hate-it herb.  I happen to HATE it.  I left it out, and used siracha in place of the sambal. After they were softened, I used my kitchen shears to cut the noodles uop into smaller legnths. To up the veggies, I used half again as many carrots and about 1 cup of steamed edamame. Doubled the dressing and put it all in a "tupperware" bowl.  Stuck it in the fridge and before I went to bed, I turned the bowl upside down to let the dressing run back through the noodles. I got n ice saturation of flavor that way and it was perfect to put in a smaller bowl to take for lunch the next day.  I also had if for dinner the same evening with leftover ribeye thinly sliced on top.  Nice make-ahead light supper for us.  Will do again.

I thought it was great! I did not have fish sauce so I added soy sauce. I didn't have fresh herbs so i added dried herbs and I decided not to add sesame oil because I want it to be healthier!   Still came out great!

I was a bit disappointed with this recipe. The dressing is lacking something maybe more brown sugar lime and ginger and a little oil? Also the dressing just runs to the bottom of the bowl the noodles didn't soak up the dressing even after having sat in the refrigerator overnight. (Another reviewer suggested some peanut butter in the dressing which is an excellent idea.) It is a difficult salad to plate and eat with the noodles being so long - I would break up the noodles a little before soaking them. I did serve this with grilled chicken but I used the recipe for Shoyu Chicken for the marinade for the chicken.

Wowee was I popular at the barbecue on Sunday! I made this great salad - it's sooooo easy and delicious! I made as is but for one thing: I substituted diced green peppers for the green onions as my Boo hates onions but I put them on the side with some extra crushed peanuts so that people could add garnish to their own salads. This one is definitely a keeper. (BTW Trader Joe's has pre-shredded carrots which makes it even EASIER!).

I have loved this salad for years - thanks for the recipe. I find that tossing the noodles in the dressing them laying them out on a cookie sheet topped with the veggies makes mixing everything together well much easier. I also add a splash of toasted sesame oil to the soaking water - the noodles then don't stick together and drain off the water better.

I LOVED this salad! So refreshing on a hot summer day. The carrots give a nice crunch and some added texture. I love Asian food but I've never used fish sauce before and I was a bit apprehensive. However all of the flavors work together perfectly. Don't be afraid! I think this salad is going to be in heavy rotation this summer at my house. I will say the rice noodles took forever to soften just sitting in hot water so I ended up boiling them and then hitting them with cold water and it was fine.

Even my picky husband liked this and I thought for sure he would not. I used Thai Sweet Chili sauce and since it was so sweet (and spicy) I left out the brown sugar which was a good call. I added matchstick cut cucumber and left out the mint. Hubby can't eat cilantro so I served it on the side along with extra crushed peanuts (don't skip the peanuts!!) the more the better. I grilled shrimp to top the salad which was a great variation. YUM!

The grilled thighs with the marinade was the star of this dish. I actually thought I would love the noodles and my husband would tolerate them but my husband ate seconds and I liked it well enough. I did like the texture and the idea of it all but I didn't "love it". I do think my husband will ask for it in the future and I will definitely save the marinade recipe for the chicken because that was awesome.

The only reason I gave this recipe even 2 stars is due to the sauce which I tweaked a little even. Added some lemongrass more sesame oil and ginger. However the noodles did not soften in the hot water which is what I was leary about in the first place. I think rice noodles need to be in boiling water for a minute to soften correctly.

See how to make a simple, spicy and delicious rice noodle salad.

spicy rice noodle salad

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total: 50 minutes

Servings: 6

Cost: $6.22 /serving

Author : Chef John

Ingredients

Instructions

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