Often called vermicelli, these Vietnamese Rice Noodle Bowls are full of fresh vegetables for flavor, color and crunch and sautéed mushrooms for umami and so much more. The delicious salad bowls come together so quickly making them perfect for any weeknight, but are also fun and fancy enough to serve up for company.
You can use thin wheat noodles if you like, but I prefer to use Asian rice noodles and many of them - pho rice noodles and pad Thai noodles will work. I highly recommend topping with as many of the add-ons as you can. I’m also a big fan of the dressing for topping the salad and sautéing the mushrooms. It will add so much complexity to this recipe.
Make it extra kid friendly: My kids love the raw vegetables served in this dish. While it can sometimes be easier to serve your kids meals bento box style (everything separated), this may be a fun meal to serve ‘grown-up’ style. They can make their own bowls with the ingredients they like and eat it all together in a salad just as it's meant to be served. I always make extra noodles, too.
Yield: 4 Servings
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
3 Tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil, divided
3 Tbsp vegan fish sauce *see below
¼ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 tsp garlic (~ 2 cloves), peeled and minced
1 tsp ginger, peeled and minced
1 jalapeño, seeds removed and cut into thin strips, divided
8-10 oz rice noodles
3 cups shiitake or other type of mushroom, sliced thin
1 cup carrots, julienned
1 cup cucumber, julienned
1 cup lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces
½ cup fresh basil, stems removed
1 cup peanuts, roughly chopped
Preparation
Step 1: Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Meanwhile, prepare your dressing. Combine 3 Tbsp olive oil, vegan fish sauce (see note below), rice vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, 1 tsp garlic and ginger in a small bowl and whisk well. If you want it to be a bit spicy, mince 1 strip of jalapeño and add it to the dressing.
Step 2: Once the water is boiling, add the rice noodles to the pot and cook per the package instructions. Most rice noodles cook in only a few minutes. Do not over cook. Drain the noodles and run under cool water. Set aside.
Step 3: Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the remaining 1 tsp of olive oil to the pan and heat. Add the mushrooms to the pan, along with 1 tsp of the minced garlic. Cook for 2 minutes. Add about ½ of the prepared dressing to the pan and sauté for another 5-7 minutes until the mushrooms are softened and browned, but not mushy.
Step 3: Assemble your bowls. Divide the noodles across four bowls. Add the carrots, cucumber, lettuce, basil, jalapeño and peanuts to the bowls. Dress each bowl with the remaining dressing and serve.
Chef’s note: Fish sauce is a staple in Southeast and East Asia. Do not shy away from trying the vegan version. I love this one - it uses clean ingredients and uses sea kelp. You can also replace fish sauce with additional soy sauce, apple cider vinegar and even diced seaweed if you have it.
Comments