This is a refreshing Vermicelli Noodle Salad that is quick to make and super healthy at only 170 calories per serving! The dressing is made with Asian ingredients and is very neutral so will suit most Asian foods, including Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, and even Korean dishes like Bulgogi.
Try it with Chinese Chicken Wings, Asian Glazed Salmon or Asian Chilli Garlic Prawns (Shrimp)!
Vermicelli Noodle Salad
Asian cuisine doesn’t really have the equivalent of Western “go to” side salads like Coleslaw, Rocket and Parmesan, or Garden Salads. So I created this Vermicelli Noodle Salad as a simple, refreshing salad to accompany Asian foods.
It’s one of those sides that I called a two-in-one, being that it’s made with vermicelli noodles, which helps fill out the meal instead of having rice on the side, plus plenty of crunchy fresh vegetable.
This makes a terrific NO COOK light summer meal!
What you need for Vermicelli Noodle Salad
Here’s what you need:
-
Vermicelli noodles are thin noodles made from rice. Prepare per packet directions – usually just soaked in warm tap water or boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drained;
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Vegetables – sub with vegetables of choice! Anything that can be chopped into thin strands like pictured are ideal;
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Chilli is optional – a subtle hit of spiciness is very on theme for Asian salads.
Turn this into a quick meal with the addition of something store bought like shredded chicken, hot smoked salmon, pre cooked prawns or even canned tuna!
How to make it
And here’s how to make it. No rocket science involved here! Shake the dressing in a jar (the best way to make any type of dressing), prepare noodles per packet, then toss it all together.
What to serve with Vermicelli Noodle Salad
This is a sensational hot weather meal, as a light meal by itself or with a simple piece of cooked protein. My favourite is to top it with big flakes of Asian-style salmon, such as one of these:
Asian salmons
The refreshing flavours in this noodle salad goes really well with pretty much any Asian mains, such as these:
Asian mains
The dressing of this Vermicelli Noodle Salad is really neutral so this salad goes with pretty much any South East Asian cuisine such as these (click to browse recipes):
Asian foods
Have I convinced you yet that this is a great salad to add to your Asian repertoire??! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Vermicelli Noodle Salad
Ingredients
- 100g / 4 oz dried vermicelli noodles (Note 1)
- 2 cups white or green cabbage , shredded
- 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot (1 medium carrot)
- 1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
- 2 green onions , finely sliced
- 1/2 cup coriander/ cilantro leaves
Dressing (Note 2 for substitutions)
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp grapeseed oil (or any other neutral oil)
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1 birds eye chilli , finely minced
Garnishes (optional)
- Fried Asian Shallots , to garnish (optional)
- Red chilli , finely sliced
Instructions
- Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes for the flavours to infuse.
- Prepare vermicelli noodles per packet directions (usually soak in warm or boiling water 2 minutes). Drain well then set aside for 10 minutes to drain off exces water. Turn out onto tea towel if necessary to dry more (watery noodles = watery flavour).
- Combine vermicelli noodles with remaining salad ingredients.
- Just prior to serving, toss through dressing. Garnish with Fried Asian Shallots if you wish.
Recipe Notes:
- Light soy sauce - sub with regular dark soy sauce, however, the colour of the dressing will be a darker colour and so the salad will look browner than in the photo.
- Rice wine vinegar - sub with lime juice for more of a Thai / Vietnamese spin. Can also sub with other mild vinegars like white wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, champagne vinegar, even apple cider vinegar.
- Chilli - is optional. 1 chilli provides a nice subtle hum, barely there. I also like to add slices of chilli for a bit more of a kick!
- Sub vegetables with any that can be thinly sliced in similar shapes (eg iceberg lettuce, snow peas, red onion, capsicum/bell peppers, cucumber)
- Add mint for a Thai / Vietnamese spin. Could also add Thai Basil leaves.
Nutrition Information:
Originally published August 2014. Updated with new photos and video in November 2019.
Life of Dozer
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I love this salad, I’ll often add leftover roast chicken through it.
Amazing with prawns as well
Really nice dish. A bit of chopping prep required but it’s a lovely fresh salad. I added mint and would add more of the herbs next time to take it up a notch
Made this tonight and served this two ways, with cooked prawns and satay tofu, loved it… after soaking the noodles, i cut them with kitchen scissors, to shorten the lengths, it helped spread them evenly,
Nagi I love all your recipes and this one is no exception. I couldn’t get nice bean sprouts or any chilies, but otherwise followed the recipe adding some finely sliced red bell pepper and some sambal oelek in the dressing. Half the recipe was a good portion for two, alongside some grilled Korean short ribs. This feels like it would be nicely adaptable, depending on what you’re serving it with. You could add some lime juice or fish sauce to the dressing, or top it with chopped peanuts or toasted sesame seeds…..
Amazingly easy and tasty recipe. My husband and I both do not handle spicy food well so I subbed the hot chili’s for mild green chilis and it was delicious. 10/10 will make again.
Hi Nagi – when you say for the dressing to sit for 5 minutes, I assume that’s the minimum time. How early could I make the dressing so it’s doesn’t spoil/cure in advance?
I’ve got guests coming tonight who are all Vegans and it’s 31 degrees Celsius here. I’m just adding other cold dishes, Asian style. Made this salad many times and it’s always a winner! Thank you Navi!
We ate this salad with the Vietnamese pork chops done on the Weber and boy it did not dissapoint. I’ve never used vermicelli noodles before and they were so yummy in this salad. I was inhaling it. I used 2 large garlic cloves in the dressing and 2 Birds Eye chilli’s. So many flavours going on in my mouth. Don’t scrimp on the fried noodles the crunchy factor really makes the salad. 6/5 stars!
I’m making this for a 3rd time tonight after trying it last week and falling in love! It’s a perfect summer side dish instead of rice or hot noodles. We had it with the Asian glazed salmon and it was all so simple and tasty 🤤
I made this for dinner tonight, with the addition of poached chicken breast. I also added to the salad finely sliced bok choy stems, edamame, chopped salted peanuts, mint in equal quantity to the coriander and crispy shallots, as I wanted it to be a whole meal rather than an accompaniment. I doubled the sauce quantity too, and added sriracha. It was delicious and teens approved too. One note: the noodles and the poached chicken can be ‘wet’, so I drained the noodles well and I patted the poached chicken a bit with a paper towel. I think best to put the assembled salad in the fridge for a bit, 30 mins maybe, before serving. The flavours are so good, light but tasty and nice and cooling for a hot day.
so yummy, perfect on a hot summer day, i added a smidge of sesame oil to the dressing cause I love it, I made arayes for dinner and the salad for a work event ended up having the salad for dinner it’s so good, Nagi you are my go to girl for recipes. XXX
Added red peppers. Served with a Thai curry fish recipe. Very good! I think mandarins, chicken and almond would be nice addition for a luncheon. Thanks Nagi!
Absolutely delicious and very easy to follow. Whole family loved it!!!
My go-to recipe!
I made this as a side for the Asian Glazed Salmon and it’s a nice, refreshing alternative to the usual rice/veg combination. I made the double the dressing because I generally find there’s not enough moisture for the noodles in these kinds of recipes and I’m glad I did. In fact, I think it could have used even more dressing because that’s what gives the salad it”s flavour. This is one of my fave recipes sites. Thanks for all the work!
So so good. First time we had it with poached chicken, a couple of days later we had it with cooled cooked prawns. The flavours are spot on. It’s perfect for a hot summer day when you don’t want to cook and the pre prep is easy.
I made this salad as a side to go with the boneless, skinless chicken thighs my Hubbie grilled tonight. The thighs were marinated overnight in your Asian Chicken Marinade and Man oh Man! What a pair these are together! The warm and the cold,…the spicey and the cool….it was all so light and bursting with flavor everywhere!
This will go on the record as one of my favorite combinations!
Thank you again !
Nagi are you sure 100g noodles are enough???? It doesn’t seem a lot but I am an over caterer and trying to do better.
Favourite Asian salad. We all love it and we add fresh mint and parsley galore. Perfect pairing with honey garlic chicken thighs! Damn great, thanks Nagi ❤️
Love your recipes Nagi but I do wish you could put UK equivalent measurements alongside… takes me ages converting everything!
Hi Alison! There’s a little button at the top of each recipe that swaps between metric and cups! N x
Or button even!
Thanks for your reply Nagi but sorry I can’t find it…. Senior moment maybe 😆 I can find where you scale the servings but no balloon 🤔