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.
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Tofu. We're using extra-firm tofu, which is my preferred variety for a noodle salad like this one. You'll need to press it though. If you don't feel like doing that, simply substitute super firm tofu.
- Canola oil. Feel free to swap this out with any high-heat oil. Peanut oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil are all great choices.
- Hoisin sauce. Look for this in the international foods section of your supermarket.
- Rice noodles. The recipe calls for vermicelli, which is a super skinny variety of noodle. If you happen to have fatter rice noodles on hand, use them. They'll work just fine in this recipe!
- Rice vinegar.
- Soy sauce. Gluten-free tamari or liquid aminos can be substituted if needed.
- Sugar. Use organic granulated sugar to keep the recipe vegan.
- Ginger.
- Garlic.
- Napa cabbage. You can substitute with regular cabbage or even another green like lettuce if needed. I can't always find napa cabbage at the supermarket, but the local Asian market and the produce store always have it.
- Carrots.
- Cucumber.
- Fresh cilantro. Cilantro haters can skip this, obviously!
- Fresh mint.
- Scallions.
- JalapeƱo peppers. These will add some heat to your noodle salad! Leave them out if you prefer it mild.
- Peanuts. Not into peanuts? Try cashews or sesame sees instead!
How It's Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Start by preparing your hoisin glazed tofu. 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. Your Vietnamese rice noodle salad is ready to enjoy. It's heavenly.
Pro Tips
- 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 guide.
- Want to make this recipe gluten-free? Just use gluten-free tamari in place of soy sauce.
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
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
- Ā½ pound extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
- 1 Ā½ 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
- Ā½ medium cucumber, seeded and julienned
- Ā¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Ā¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1-2 jalapeƱo peppers, thinly sliced (optional)
- Ā¼ cup roasted peanuts
Instructions
Make the Crispy Tofu
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Cut tofu into Ā½ inch cubes (or desired shape).
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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.
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Cook the tofu for about 10 minutes, flipping once or twice to achieve browning on multiple sides.
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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.
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Remove the tofu from heat and transfer it to a plate.
Make the Noodle Salad
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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).
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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.
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Whisk the vinegar, soy sauce, vegetable oil, sugar, ginger and garlic together in small bowl.
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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.
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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.
Looks delish!! I need to try out some more tofu dishes and will have to give this a try!! :)
I give this a big thumbs up. We made a really big bowl of salad so we could have leftovers and I should have doubled the dressing. It was a little light on flavor but the flavor was excellent. There was a lot of prep. I had help. I'd make it again.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!!
Yummy Tofu Noodle Salad i will must try it
Thank Alaina! I hope you enjoy it!
Terrific recipe! Weāve made it multiple times.. Iād say itās on our official rotation now!
I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks Aimee!!
Aloha Alissa, I made the recipe tonight for a summer dinner. I doubled the dressing recipe for four adults, using brown sugar instead of white sugar, shredded green leaf lettuce instead of Napa Cabbage, it's what I had in the fridge. I also added roasted sesame seeds while cooking the tofu, I wish I had had some fresh beans sprouts. It was fun to watch each person create their own dish. This was a easy recipe to prepare with my sweetheart. Added it to my Pinterest board.
Mahalo for sharing,
Joanie
That sounds like a wonderful meal! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Joanie!
I love the recipe. but what I REALLY love is the calorie count and how it prints nicely on one page. Thank you for putting in the extra effort.
I'm glad to hear it's helpful!