I am a non vegetarian but happily eat meatless meals and, reduce my impact on planet earth by not adding meat on most days. So here I’m sharing my absolute favorite vegan recipe : Thai Peanut noodle Salad. I make it when I need a quick meal I know everyone will enjoy. The best part, it is lighter and heartier that won’t weigh you down. The flavors are bright, refreshing, a bit tangy, a bit sweet, a tad bit salty, and spicy. Check out how I made it in this video.
This Thai Peanut Noodle Salad has loads of goodness: fresh, colorful, and crunchy veggies, slick, bouncy rice noodles, and crispy yet deliciously soft pan-fried tofu for heaps of protein. The salad is tossed in a delicious umami peanut lime dressing and topped with crunchy roasted unsalted peanuts. So many flavors. So many textures.
It’s a versatile recipe as you can switch up the veggies. Plus leftovers hold up in the fridge for up to 2 days. So you can enjoy it for lunch the next day or even dinner. Make sure to add the peanut sauce dressing just before eating.
Ingredients for Thai Peanut Rice Noodle Salad
Rice Noodles
Rice noodles make a perfect base when making noodle salad. They can be eaten cold or at room temperature and will stay good for a couple of days in the fridge. I use my kettle to prepare the boiling water and simply pour it over the noodles that are then ready in just a few minutes.
Tofu – I prefer using extra-firm tofu when it comes to salads.
Fresh Veggies – I use thinly cut carrot, zucchini, cabbage, radish, red onion, and green onion in this recipe but you could certainly switch up the veggies.
Peanuts -Toasted unsalted peanuts give this salad extra crunch that makes it enjoyable. But if you are allergic to peanuts you can use other nuts or seeds.
Herbs – Since it is a Thai salad so I like to use Thai basil. But I also love the combination of cilantro and basil in this salad.
Peanut dressing – The dressing for this salad is simple yet deep in flavor, and so yummy! It is made of gluten-free soy sauce, smooth peanut butter, lime juice, maple syrup, ginger, and garlic. If you’d like, you can replace the peanut butter with seed or nut butter Otherwise keep it as is.
And if you like what you’re seeing here, then take a look at my Garden summer salad, Herbed zucchini salad, the hearty summer salad, and Chickpea salad as well.
Bookmark this recipe and if you make it, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram and Facebook with #simpleglutenfreekitchen
Simple to pull together Thai Peanut Noodle Salad. Ideal for summertime because it is light, yet incredibly healthy and nutritious.
Ingredients
- 3oz (85… g ) thin rice noodles
- 2 cups shredded cabbage, radish, carrot
- Zucchini, green onion, red onion
- 1-2 chopped red Thai chili
- 1/4-1/3 cup roasted chopped unsalted peanuts
- 175 gm extra firm tofu
- Thai Peanut Sauce dressing
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 3 half" thin slices of ginger, finely minced
- 1 tsp sriracha sauce
Instructions
- Simply whisk all dressing ingredients together and set aside until needed.
- Cover the thin rice noodles in boiling water for about 6-8 minutes until softened then rinse with cold water to wash away excess starch or follow the directions listed on your package of noodles.
- While the noodles are soaking, pan fry tofu. Heat sesame oil in a nonstick pan. Break tofu into 1/2" -1" pieces. Sprinkle salt. Pan fry until golden brown all over.
- Turn tofu periodically to make sure all sides are golden, cooking for about 8-10 minutes.
- Add the rice noodles and thinly cut vegetables to a large bowl or platter. Layer with cooked tofu. Pour dressing over the salad and toss until combined.
- Garnish with chopped fresh red Thai chili, green onion, peanuts and torn Thai basil.
angiesrecipes
This is one of my favourite Thai dishes. The sauce is just phenomenal that I could pour it over almost everything.
Judee
We also like to eat a lot of salads and this one sounds amazing with all the interesting flavors and ingredients. Will definitely like to try this one. Thanks Balvinder.
John / Kitchen Riffs
Yum! We eat a lot of salads for dinner at this time of the year, so this is perfect for us. That dressing looks wonderful! Good recipe — thanks.
Pattie
This looks SO delicious. I pretty much love Thai peanut anything, so I know that I would love this. I have everything on hand except for the rice noodles. I need to get some of those. Thanks for this yummy sounding recipe.
EASYFOODSMITH
It is mostly my daughter who makes south east Asian food. I am definitely going to share this recipe with her. Thanks 😊
2pots2cook
Salads are the best for this hot season. This one really looks great!
sherry
there are some great flavours here balvinder. i don’t like pasta but i don’t mind a bit of rice noodles. must keep this in mind for our summer.
Azlin Bloor
Looks and sounds amazing, Balvinder. I love salads this time of year, definitely going on my list of meals for this coming week!