One of my favourite summer salads! This Vietnamese Noodle Salad with Shrimp/Prawns is everything you know and love about Vietnamese food. Fresh, healthy, great textures and full of flavour!
A great, fresh Vietnamese noodle recipe
Winter in Sydney swings from being warm enough to run around in shorts and play with your dog at the beach, and cold enough to wear ugg boots and maybe, just maybe, turn on the heater.
So the food I make ranges from hearty winter stews to fresh summer salads. I grill outdoors all year round, I make soups in summer and salads in winter.
I love it! It keeps me on my toes! 🙂
I actually made this because my mother asked me for a recipe. She rarely does, normally it’s the other way around, with me constantly asking her how to make all the delicious Japanese dishes she cooked for us when we were growing up.
So when she asked me for my Vietnamese noodle salad recipe, I hopped right to it. After all, even when you’re 30-something, you still do as you’re told, right?
I have a chicken version but she was specifically after a prawn (shrimp) version so that’s the one I’m sharing with you today. If you prefer to use chicken, feel free to do so.
This salad is a mash up of classic Vietnamese salads like Goi Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Cabbage) and Vietnamese Noodle Bowls (seriously, if you haven’t tried this before, it’s a must!). I use a salad dressing recipe by Bill Granger who is a great Australian chef. It’s the one he uses for his Vietnamese Chicken Salad which is on the menu of one of his restaurants.
I really like serving up salads like this laid out with each of the components separately so people can help themselves and with the dressing on the side. But you can toss it all together if you want. Might be safer if you have a shrimp-pig at the table. 😉
– Nagi
Get your Vietnamese fix!
-
Lemongrass Chicken – one of my favourite things to grill!
-
Vietnamese Caramel Pork – another iconic Vietnamese food! Also see the Chicken version.
-
Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Bowls – the super quick version of the above
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Vietnamese Garlic Shrimp (Prawn) Noodle Salad
Ingredients
Garlic Shrimp (Prawns)
- 12 - 15 medium shrimp (prawns), shelled and deveined (about 5 - 7 oz / 150 - 200g, excluding shells)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- Pinch of salt and pepper
Dressing
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 large garlic clove , very finely chopped
- 1 tsp very finely chopped red chili , adjust to taste (I use birds eye which is spicy)
Salad
- 2.5 oz / 75g dried rice vermicelli noodles (Note 1)
- 3 cups iceberg lettuce , shredded
- 1 cup carrot , cut into fine matchsticks
- 1 1/2 cups cucumber , cut into matchsticks
- 1 1/2 cups beansprouts
- 1/4 cup coriander leaves , lightly packed
- 1/4 cup mint leaves (ordinary or Vietnamese), lightly packed
Instructions
- Combine the Garlic Shrimp ingredients in a small bowl and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Combine the Dressing ingredients in a small jar, give it a shake then set aside for 10 minutes.
- Heat a skillet / fry pan over high heat. Add the shrimp, scraping in the olive oil and garlic from the sides of the bowl. Cook for 2 minutes, or until browned and the shrimp is just cooked through. (Note 2)
- Remove the prawns from the skillet onto a plate.
- Prepare the vermicelli noodles according to the packet directions. I like to just soak them in hot tap water for a few minutes, this ensures they don't overcook. Then drain the noodles.
- Arrange the noodles and remaining Salad ingredients on a large plate (like the photo) or toss together in a bowl. Top with prawns (warm or at room temperature). Drizzle over the Dressing (or toss through), or you can serve the Dressing on the side.
- Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes:
Hi Nagi! I’m with you on grilling all year round, even when we lived in MI where we regularly got two to three feet of snow! And, I would be happy to be the shrimp-pig at your house! 🙂
You grill in the SNOW?? No! You don’t!!! Surely not? Standing over the BBQ in thick parkers??
Looks and sounds delightful, I am a big shrimp lover and the salad dressing is right up my alley! BTW, totally digging the twisted noodles, most artful. 🙂
Thanks Kevin!! Vermicelli noodles were made for having fun when it comes to styling!! 🙂
Haha – sounds like you are onto me, Nagi! I am a shrimp pig for sure! Specially when they look like these do!!! 🙂 I love the sound of your dressing – I Googled fish sauce (I’ve never used it myself) and saw that it’s made with anchovies, salt and water – I bet it tastes wonderful with the chili and sugar!
I bake indoors all year round – but there’s no way I’ll be getting out to grill in temps less than 60 F!
Noooo….you? A shrimp pig? Never would have guessed that! He he!! 🙂
Nagi really love this post. I love the story behind it and it just looks so fresh and gorgeous! Hubs would be ALL about this!!
Thanks Mila!! 🙂 Fresh is right!! I love how fresh this is, and yet I don’t feel like I’m forcing myself to eat healthy!! 🙂
You are making me drool, Naggi! This is childhood and comfort on a plate for me. I’d just love to dig into this right now.
Aw, thanks Thao!! 🙂