Rice Noodle Salad With Salted Peanuts and Herbs

By Melissa Clark

Rice Noodle Salad With Salted Peanuts and Herbs
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich
Total Time
25 minutes
Rating
4(465)
Comments
Read comments

This satisfying salad has rice noodles and vegetables in equal measure, making it bright, crisp and light. The peanuts add richness and a salty crunch, along with a dose of protein. And the dressing is a little spicy and a lot tangy, with a pungent kick from fish sauce, garlic and ginger. The recipe makes just enough dressing to lightly coat the vegetables and noodles, but if you’re a fan of heavily dressed salads, consider doubling it. Any leftover will keep in the fridge for up to a week, and you’ll be happy to drizzle it on fish, chicken and all kinds of vegetables.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

    For the Salad

    • 1bunch radishes, thinly sliced
    • 1large carrot, grated
    • 1½tablespoons rice wine vinegar
    • 2teaspoons granulated sugar
    • Pinch of fine sea salt
    • 8ounces pad Thai rice noodles

    For the Dressing

    • 3tablespoons lime juice (from about 2 limes), plus more to taste
    • 2tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil
    • 1½tablespoons fish sauce
    • 1(1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
    • 1garlic clove, finely grated or mashed to a paste
    • 1 to 2bird’s-eye or serrano chiles, thinly sliced

    For the Garnish

    • 1cup thinly sliced cucumber, preferably Persian
    • Handful of lettuce leaves, torn if large
    • 2scallions, thinly sliced
    • Large handful of fresh, soft herbs, such as dill, mint and cilantro
    • ½cup roasted and salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
    • 4hard-boiled eggs (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

477 calories; 21 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 59 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 14 grams protein; 787 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium bowl, toss radishes and carrot with vinegar, sugar and salt, and let sit while preparing remaining ingredients.

  2. Step 2

    Cook rice noodles according to package instructions. Immediately transfer to a colander and rinse under cold water to cool. Set aside to drain.

  3. Step 3

    In a small bowl, prepare the dressing: Stir together lime juice, oil, fish sauce, ginger, garlic and chiles.

  4. Step 4

    Pile noodles in a large bowl, then top with radish and carrot mixture and any juices from the bowl, cucumber, lettuce, scallions, herbs, peanuts and eggs, if using. Drizzle the dressing over the top.

Ratings

4 out of 5
465 user ratings
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Comments

Rob

While the boiled eggs might be yummy, I used firm tofu, lightly sautéed in oil to up the protein content. It worked swimmingly.

Read

Firm silken tofu sounds pretty good in this, and if you sub shoyu for the fish sauce it'd make it vegan. But as to @Rob's note about protein, egg has about 80% more protein by weight as tofu.

Ruth

I made this last night - it was delicious. Increased the veggies and herbs, skipped the eggs, doubled the dressing and served with marinated teriyaki salmon and roasted asparagus on the side. It was a big hit with guests on a warm summer night on the porch.

Lakelady

This was a rare Melissa Clark recipe that I didn’t love. The noodles were tough and gummy even though I cooked them past the instructions. I added chicken instead of eggs. The dressing was the problem. It doesn’t taste like pasta Thai to me without tamarind.

Ashley

Made almost exactly as written, but threw in some chili crisp instead of fresh for the sauce. Opted for cilantro as the herb. Delicious!

Onnjria

Made this as written, without eggs because I served it with Chicken satay. I used basil, cilantro and mint and omg it was delicious! I did throw on some Sambal chili garlic sauce, but I put it on everything. I will make this again tomorrow, great recipe!!

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