It feels like an endless summer here in Toronto and I'm loving it! Salads are still the way to go when it's hot and sticky outside. Vietnamese vermicelli salad used to be one of my favourite Asian-inspired dishes and I've since tweaked this classic to make it more enjoyable for my family and guests. My friend Pressie loved it when we had her family over three weeks ago.
"Vietnamese Style" Rainbow Noodle Salad
Salad:
1/2 package brown rice and millet noodles (cooked according to package directions)
or your choice of gluten-free noodles
3 cups shredded purple cabbage
2 carrots, peeled and spiralized or cut into thin julienne
1 zucchini spiralized or cut into thin julienne
1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
1/3 c. sunflower seeds, lightly toasted
1/4 c. mint leaves, thinly cut
1/4 c. cilantro, thinly cut
Dressing:
1/4 c. lime juice
4 Tbs. Braggs liquid aminos
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 1/2 Tbsp. avocado oil or walnut oil
1 1/2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seed oil
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1 small garlic clove, minced
Prep all ingredients and assemble the salad 30 mins. before serving. Leave some of the herbs, peas and sunflower seeds for topping. This can serve from 6-8 people. See some variations below.
There's a lot of ways this can be made: adding your own choices of veggies and protein. Sprouts and cucumber are great as well. For a 100% plant-based option, I added green peas and toasted sunflower seeds. Instead of using rice vermicelli, I went for brown rice and millet noodles (I used this brand). For the dressing, I've replaced fish sauce with Braggs liquid aminos like this but feel free to use coconut aminos or soya sauce or tamari.
I hope you've been enjoying the last part of the Summer. Tomorrow most kids go back to school in Canada. My son started University a bit early last Thursday...exciting times for our family! We're so grateful for this new milestone. To celebrate the Labour Day weekend, we get to join our friends at a beach day yesterday. We drove 2 hours to the Sandbanks and we had a blast! I'm sharing some of the photos we took.
