Say goodbye to boring salads! Rice noodles, crisp veggies, a zippy soy ginger dressing and savory-sweet hoisin glazed tofu make this meal-worthy Vietnamese-inspired rice noodle salad absolutely irresistible.
Okay, so salad recipes aren’t really my thing. Oh, I love salads and all, and I eat them all the time, but salad recipes don’t tend to go over big on this site. And I totally understand why! As much as I love salads, I’m really all about throwing a bunch of random salad ingredients into a plate or bowl and calling it a meal. No recipe required!
But there are exceptions. Like really special salads that we all loved in non-vegan form. Caesar salad, taco salad…stuff like that. I love veganizing those.
And then there’s noodle salads. Because, let’s be real: a salad that uses pasta as its main ingredient doesn’t feel much like a salad at all. But still, this sucker is packed with veggies. I’m rarely stuffed after polishing off a bowl of salad, but boy oh boy did this one do it for me.
If you’ve ever ordered a rice noodle salad at a Vietnamese restaurant, you probably know what I’m talking about. In fact, that’s where the inspiration for this one came from.
To round out the noodles and veggies I cooked up some hoisin glazed tofu. OMG was it good! Just pan-fry the tofu, and when it’s done, glaze it with some hoisin sauce and let it cook for another minute or two, until the sauce forms a nice thick coating on the tofu.
The dressing is a simple mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic and ginger. It’s pretty light, and adds just the right amount of flavor to the noodles and veggies.
You’ll be soaking your noodles: just boil some water, turn off the heat, and then add the noodles and let them sit until they soften up.
Once your noodles are soaked and your herbs and veggies are prepped, throw them into a bowl and add the dressing.
Tofu goes on top, along with some chopped roasted peanuts. It’s heavenly.
Tips for Making an Amazing Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad…
- Make sure to drain your noodles really well! I often make the mistake of not doing this, and the excess liquid ends up watering down the dressing. After soaking, drain the noodles into a colander, rinse with cold water, and let them sit in the colander to drain for a bit.
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge for about a day. After that the noodles will start to dry out.
- For some tips on how to perfectly pan-fry your tofu, check out this post.
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Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Hoisin Glazed Tofu
Say goodbye to boring salads! Rice noodles, crisp veggies, a zippy soy ginger dressing and savory-sweet hoisin glazed tofu make this meal-worthy Vietnamese-inspired rice noodle salad absolutely irresistible.
Ingredients
For the Hoisin-Glazed Tofu
- 1/2 pound extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil, or another high-heat oil
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
For the Noodle Salad
- 4 ounces dried rice noodle vermicelli
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon organic granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3 cups shredded Napa cabbage
- 2 medium carrots, shredded or julienned
- 1/2 medium cucumber, seeded and julienned
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1-2 jalapeño peppers, thinly sliced (optional)
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
Instructions
Make the Crispy Tofu
Cut tofu into 1/2 inch cubes (or desired shape).
Coat a large, flat-bottomed skillet with oil and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the tofu cubes in a single layer.
Cook the tofu for about 10 minutes, flipping once or twice to achieve browning on multiple sides.
Pour the hoisin sauce over the tofu and flip a few times to coat. Cook another minute or two, until the sauce thickens up just a bit.
Remove the tofu from heat and transfer it to a plate.
Make the Noodle Salad
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Remove it from heat, add the noodles and submerge them. Soak the noodles until tender, about 3 minutes (or refer to the package directions).
Drain the noodles into a colander and rinse them well with cold water. Leave the noodles in the colander to drain while you prepare the dressing.
Whisk the vinegar, soy sauce, vegetable oil, sugar, ginger and garlic together in small bowl.
Place the noodles into a bowl and add the cabbage, carrots, cucumber, cilantro, mint and scallions. Pour the dressing over the noodles and toss to coat.
Divide the noodle salad onto plates or into bowls. Top with tofu and peanuts. Serve.
Recipe Notes
The nutrition information is based on 3 servings, but you could get up to 6 side dish servings out of the recipe, or even make 2 giant meals out of it.
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