An easy side or main with shrimp or tofu, this Vietnamese-style noodle salad comes packed with vegetables and fresh herbs.
By Sylvia Fountaine
Turnips have been showing up a lot in my CSA box lately – which don’t get me wrong, I love, but it has been way too hot around here to roast them in the oven or to turn them into the tender gratin my mother used to make. 
So, I’ve been pickling them. Pickled Turnips are a delicious staple in Middle Eastern cuisine – a tasty accompaniment to falafels, where they are traditionally pickled with a slice of beet giving them a beautiful pink hue.
For the sake of trying something new, I added turnips to this recipe for Pickled Vegetables Rice Noodle Salad… and it turned out great!
Here I used carrot ribbons and cucumber too, but feel free to use any vegetable that you have on hand or like- radishes, daikon radish, bell pepper, shredded cabbage, zucchini ribbons, or even jicama.
To turn this into a meal, add cooked shrimp or cubes of extra firm tofu. Don’t let the fish sauce scare you, it gives it a really delicious flavor.
Fresh herbs are a must here – and I change it up a lot, sometimes mint, sometimes cilantro, sometimes basil or Thai basil. Take your pick. The leftovers hold up well in the fridge for several days.
PrintPickled Vegetables Rice Noodle Salad
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
Description
An easy side or main with shrimp or tofu, this Vietnamese-style noodle salad comes packed with vegetables and fresh herbs.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces rice noodles
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- 2 T olive or vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar (or honey)
- 1 teaspoon sriracha chili sauce ( optional)4-5 cups your choice of thinly sliced or match stick cut vegetables- carrots, bell peppers, daikon radish, turnips, cucumber., zucchini ribbons,
- ¼ C sliced scallions
- 1 cup chopped cilantro, basil or mint, or a mix.
- 4–8 ounces cooked, chilled shrimp, or cubed tofu ( both optional)
Instructions
- Cook rice noodles according to directions on the package, rinse with cold running water. ( Alternately, pour boiling water over noodles in a bowl. Let noodles soak until tender but not mushy, anywhere from 5-15 minutes, depending on he size, then drain and rinse under very cold water until throughly chilled
- In a large bowl add garlic, ginger, fish sauce, lime juice, vinegar, oil, sugar, and sriracha and give a stir. Add the vegetables and toss to coat well. Let sit at least 15 minutes in the fridge, and toss again.
- Add noodles and half of the herbs to the pickled vegetable bowl; toss to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve. This salad is best served very cold, so I’ll often make it one hour ahead or the day before.
- Sprinkle the the remaining herbs right over top before serving.
- If adding shrimp, toss in at the same time as the noodles.
- Category: Main, Side
- Cuisine: Vietnamese-Inspired
Thanks.