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:
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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’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 🤔
The Queensland summer humidity is often unbearable but when you can make a refreshing salad like this ripper, you kinda forget the weather.
The flavours are amazing and the salad works so well with all protein.
Knock it down with a cheeky wine and everyone’s a winner!
You’re the best Nagi.
I made it for kids lunch this week. I sautéed tofu to go with it. It’s really delicious. You can prepare everything the night before and add the tofu on top in the morning. I made more of the dressing.
The first time I tried this salad soooo beautiful. I made sauce a bit earlier and leave fridge for 2 hrs. Love it.
This is so good! It’s one of our favourite dishes on warmer months.
I want to try this but I don’t know where to find Birds eye chili in the U.S. If someone knows, please tell me! I’ve asked around at my two local stores, and no one seems to know. Also, for the garnish it says “red chili”–what kind of red chili? If there is a substitution I can use for these items, please let me know.
I put in the rest of your caramelised minced pork and it was really good. Thank you for another go-to summer recipe!
This is super yummy. We used less than 1/3 of a serrano pepper and it was plenty spicy! Watch out if you are not used to spicy. We also used rice stick noodles, which are pretty similar to vermicelli. We served it with previously made/frozen spring rolls and dipping sauce (a basic fish sauce with some add-ins). Everyone loved it, including the kids. I like the ideas from some others… I think when you have a good base recipe, you can add or subtract veggies that suit you. Thank you!
We had this tonight and loved it. Now, you are going to hate this, but here are the substitutions: I used half rice vinegar and lime juice, added thai basil, mint and chives (they’re in my garden) and added a bit of fish sauce for more umami. I didn’t have the bean sprouts. I think it was great!
My Thai buddy told me “ Put sugar in for the white people” 😂.
How about using sesame oil and even toasted sesame seeds or do they interfere with the peanuts ? He would also put in slightly smashed cherry tomatoes and smashed raw cut green beans as well as cabbage threads. Fish sauce instead of soy, Thai peppers, cilantro, smashed roasted peanuts and don’t forget the sugar