Nuoc Cham, a Vietnamese dipping sauce made with fish sauce and lime juice, makes a great dressing for rice noodles. Cook the noodles and stir together the dressing the night before, that way the noodles can soak in some of the dressing and become very flavorful. The next day’s cooking simply involves tearing some fresh mint and basil, slicing the vegetables, and adding in already cooked tofu, shrimp, or chicken.
I like using the sweet chile tofu slabs from the Co-Op salad bar but a rotisserie chicken would be good too. For home cooking, grill more than you need one night and use leftovers in this salad a couple days later or poach shrimp or chicken in advance and chill.
Adapted from my Nuoc Cham post from a few years back and Jamie at Drive Me Hungry who gave me the idea for this perfect summer meal with her recipe, “Quick and Easy Vietnamese Noodle Salad with Tangy Dressing.”
Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad
Note: for best flavor, cook the rice noodles in advance and allow to soak in some of the nuoc cham for several hours or overnight
Ingredients
- 7 ounces rice noodles, vermicelli-thin 200 grams
Nuoc Cham
- ½ cup water
- 5 tablespoons fish sauce Red Boat
- 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 clove garlic, minced optional
- 1 Thai chile, thinly sliced crosswise optional
Fresh Vegetables
- 2 bunches tender herb leaves like basil, mint, and cilantro, leaves stripped from the stems about 2 cups; Italian parsley and tarragon would be good in the mix as well
- 4 sturdy vegetables, julienned: carrot, cucumber, red/yellow/orange bell pepper, Hakurei turnips, snow peas, or sugar snap peas about 2 cups
- 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
- ½ lime for dressing with the reserved nuoc cham
Toppings: chopped peanuts, cooked marinated tofu, shrimp, or chicken (score if you find this prepared for you!)
Instructions
In advance, cook and soak noodles in some of the nuoc cham (reserving the rest for dressing the final salad):
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Soak noodles in a pot of water while you stir together the nuoc cham. Stir dressing/dipping sauce until sugar is dissolved.
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Set the noodle pot over moderate heat and bring to boil. Cook just until noodles are flexible, about 2 to 3 minutes—refer to package instructions. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water. Transfer to a bowl that will fit in your refrigerator. Drizzle some of the nuoc cham over the noodles, toss to coat, and refrigerate the noodles and reserved nuoc cham for several hours or overnight.
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The next day just before serving, tear herb leaves and scatter over noodles. Add julienned vegetables and sliced jalapeño. Drizzle desired amount of dipping sauce over the salad, squeeze all with half a lime, combine gently, and serve with cooked marinated tofu, shrimp, or chicken.
