Thai Rice Noodle Salad with Cucumber and Herbs Recipe
A light, refreshing salad with rice noodles, cucumber and plenty of fresh herbs is the perfect dish for warm days. In Thailand, similar salads are often served as a side to grilled meats, but they can easily be a standalone, light meal. The flavor is a bit like Vietnamese spring rolls, just in a “no-wrapping” version.
Rice noodle and herb salads are popular in Thailand and neighboring Vietnam as light hot-weather dishes, often served alongside grilled meats. This type of salad tastes very similar to the filling of fresh spring rolls, but it’s served in a bowl instead of being wrapped.
This salad has a flavor profile very close to fresh Thai-Vietnamese spring rolls, but without the fuss of wrapping everything in rice paper. The generous amount of herbs and cucumber makes it incredibly light and cooling – perfect for hot days – while the peanuts and fish sauce add a deeply satisfying umami richness.
Why this version works
- The noodles are only soaked and then shocked in cold water, so they stay bouncy instead of overcooked.
- Removing the cucumber seeds reduces excess liquid so the dressing doesn’t get watered down.
- The separately prepared dressing is concentrated and easy to adjust to your own taste.
- Peanuts added at the very end stay crunchy and provide contrast to the soft noodles.
Chef's tips
The most common mistake is noodles that are too wet – after rinsing, leave them in a colander for a few minutes and shake again until the strands stop sticking and feel slightly springy. Always taste the dressing before pouring it into the bowl: if a teaspoonful gives you a clear tingling on the tongue from the acidity, the flavor will balance out nicely once combined with the noodles. If the salad sits for a while and starts to release liquid, you can add a handful of freshly cooked noodles or a few extra peanuts to bring back the contrast in textures.
How to serve
Serve the salad as a base for grilled chicken, shrimp or tofu, piling the protein on top like in a bowl-style dish. It’s perfect packed for a summer picnic if you carry the dressing and peanuts separately and toss everything together quickly right before eating.
Watch out for
- Don’t soak the noodles for too long – after a few minutes they start to break apart when you mix the salad.
- Don’t add the herbs too early; sitting in the dressing they quickly darken and lose their fresh aroma.
- Don’t salt the cucumber or carrot separately, as they’ll release water and dilute the dressing.
Substitutions
- You can replace the fish sauce with light soy sauce to make a vegetarian version.
- Peanuts can be swapped for cashews or toasted sunflower seeds in case of an allergy.
- You can partially substitute the coriander with flat-leaf parsley if someone dislikes its flavor.
- Fresh chili can be replaced with chili flakes, adding them gradually to the dressing.
Ingredients
- thin rice noodles (vermicelli) - 120 g
- fresh cucumber - 1 piece
- carrot - 1 piece
- onion czerwona - 0.5 piece
- fresh coriander - 3 tablespoons
- fresh mint - 2 tablespoons
- roasted unsalted peanuts - 30 g
- fish sauce (for a veg version use soy sauce) rybny - 2 tablespoons
- lime juice - 3 tablespoons
- brown sugar trzcinowy - 1.5 tablespoons
- red chili pepper - 1 piece
- garlic - 1 clove
Preparation
- Place the rice noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 3–4 minutes (or according to the package instructions), until they soften but are still slightly springy in the center. Drain, rinse thoroughly with very cold water until they are cool and not sticky.
- Drain the noodles thoroughly in a colander, shaking until no more water drips off and the strands look matte rather than wet. Set aside. Wash the cucumber, cut it in half lengthwise, and if there are lots of seeds, scoop them out with a teaspoon. Slice into thin half-moons or matchsticks.
- Peel the carrot and coarsely grate it or cut into thin matchsticks. Slice the red onion very thinly into slivers so the flavor is gentle and doesn’t dominate the salad.
- Slice the chili lengthwise, remove the seeds for a milder version and chop it finely. Finely chop the garlic or mash it to a paste until moist and sticky – this way it will distribute evenly in the dressing.
- In a small bowl, mix the lime juice, fish sauce and brown sugar. Add the chili and garlic and stir until the sugar crystals are completely dissolved and the dressing is clear and slightly thicker. Taste – it should be intensely sour, distinctly salty and sweet at the same time.
- Rinse the coriander and mint and dry them very well, for example in a salad spinner. Strip the leaves from the tougher stems and roughly chop them – after chopping you should have a full, fluffy handful of greens, not just a token sprinkle.
- In a large bowl, combine the well-drained noodles, cucumber, carrot and onion. Scatter the herbs over the top, pour the dressing over everything and gently toss with your hands or tongs, lifting the noodles up so all the strands are glossy and the vegetables are lightly coated but not swimming in liquid.
- Taste the salad and adjust to your liking: add more lime if it needs acidity, a splash of fish sauce if it’s too bland, or a pinch of sugar if it seems too sharp. There should only be a thin layer of dressing collecting at the bottom of the bowl.
- Just before serving, sprinkle the salad with roughly chopped or lightly crushed peanuts. They should stay distinctly crunchy and noticeable in every bite. Serve immediately at room temperature or slightly chilled.
Storage
No storage information available for this dish.
I usually chop the vegetables in the morning and in the evening I just soak the noodles and mix everything together while the grill is heating up – I always make a double batch because it disappears faster than the meat.
