Something about a rice noodle that lends itself to a cool, refreshing salad. We have three this week with plenty of herbs, vegetables, and protein for a satisfying meal. Grab a beer. Get out the patio furniture and dig into a salad that matches these warm spring nights.
Cold Thai Noodle Salad, Rice Noodle Salad with Steak , and Rice Noodles with Shrimp and Coconut-Lime Dressing
Cold Thai Noodle Salad: The Modern Proper
Way back in the early days of the podcast we discovered the wonders of deeply browned ground pork. Adding it to this recipe makes for a nutty, savory salad. With the pork, peanuts, and noodles, this salad won’t leave you hungry.
Tips:
- Key to browning the pork is first chopping up the meat as it cooks, then stopping as the meat cooks through.
- We thought this was very rich. Consider draining your pork after you brown it or reducing the oil in the dressing.
- Hot sauce and extra lime was delicious here.
Rice Noodle Salad with Steak: What’s Gaby Cooking
Gaby sure can write a salad recipe. This steak salad has all the hits- dreamy dressing, hearty steak, and enough veggies to keep it crunchy. Plus an extra lime and sprinkle of ground peanuts doesn’t hurt.
Tips:
- We ended up broiling our steak and liked the ease of less grease on the stovetop.
- Consider this a rice noodle salad that works as leftovers (not all do). We liked it a lot for lunch the next day.
Rice Noodles with Shrimp and Coconut-Lime Dressing: Bon Appetit
The dressing for this salad drew us right in. A combo of lime, coconut milk, fish sauce, and brown sugar sounded balanced and bright. Delicious with some poached shrimp and a ton of herbs.
Tips:
- Cooking rice noodles can be hit or miss with timing and package directions. Keep an eye on them for over or under cooking and taste as you go.
- We poached our own shrimp but you could also buy cooked shrimp.
- Marinated and baked tofu would be lovely instead of shrimp.
From the Smorgasbord...
We found some items to make life a little more delicious (all links are Amazon Affiliate and support the podcast):
Nut Grinder If you plan on making more salads or Southeast Asian food, this is a good idea. Easy and does the job quickly.
Fried Shallots. Find these in your local Asian market, usually ones that carry Vietnamese foods. Makes everything taste better.
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