This healthy “salad” is really a meal. I absolutely love this Vietnamese tofu noodle bowl. It has great crunch with lots of clean, refreshing flavors. It’s light with a combination of sweetness, tang and spice that is to die for and very satisfying.
Don’t let the long list of ingredients scare you. It is basically a large bowl filled with thin delicate vermicelli noodles, tossed with cucumber and vegetables. Then it’s piled on top of crunchy lettuce and topped with peanuts.
Add the tangy, sweet dressing, and served with a side of Thai basil, mint, and cilantro. My recipe calls for romaine but you can experiment with various lettuce options to see what you like. Mix a few different kinds of lettuce together for more texture.
Have a look at these plant-based dishes:
- Tempeh Asian Lettuce Wraps
- Asian Noodle Salad
- Vichyssoise Fennel Soup
- Pita Falafel Sandwich with Tahini Sauce
I know some of you out there love things very spicy and that’s ok. This recipe will allow for the addition of extra peppers and chilies.
Here is a chart will give you an idea of various peppers and heat levels you could add to this bowl.
Making Your Plant-Based Rice Noodle Salad
Start by preparing your tofu by either steaming with the vegetables or baking. You can use my baked tofu recipe. While this is cooking, steam the bok choy, carrots, broccoli and mushrooms. You want them to be tender, but still crisp.
Also prepare your vermicelli and dressing. Once everything is ready, start building your bowls, topping with herbs, peanuts, cucumber, and chili sauce.
It’s fun, and so flavorful with a perfect balance of hot, sour, salty and sweet. Oh, and a plant-based, vegan meal you can feel good about.
This Tofu Noodle Bowl recipe calls for rice wine vinegar but just in case you’re not sure what to buy, this video breaks down the difference between rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar. It is also helpful if you ever decide to make veggie sushi.
I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below for this Vietnamese Tofu Noodle Bowl! If you have a photo, post it on my Facebook page, tag me using the hashtag #plantbasedcooking in your caption, and I won’t miss it!
Vietnamese Tofu Noodle Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 package vermicelli rice noodles cooked according to package
- 1 14 oz. block firm organic tofu cut into 1" cubes
- 4 large leaves romaine lettuce roughly shredded
- 6 leaves baby bok choy roughly chopped
- 2 large carrots peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 3 cups broccoli cut into 1” pieces
- 1 cup button or baby bella mushrooms halved
- 1/2 medium cucumber thinly sliced
- 1 small bunch Thai basil or mint and cilantro
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts roughly chopped
Vietnamese Dressing (Nuoc Cham)
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 3 Tbl rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 Tbl coconut sugar or 2 Tbl erythritol sugar substitute
- 1/4-1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce or red chili flakes
Instructions
- Steam the bok choy, carrots, broccoli and mushrooms until the veggies are crisp tender.
- Prepare the tofu by either steaming along with the vegetables or by baking as in this Baked Tofu recipe.
- Mix the dressing ingredients together and serve in a separate bowl.
- Place the roughly shredded romaine lettuce in the bottom of 4 large bowls. Top each bowl with an equal amount of cooked rice vermicelli.
- Top the vermicelli with the steamed vegetables and tofu.
- Arrange the cucumber slices around the bowl.
- Sprinkle peanuts over the top of each bowl.
- Place the basil, mint and cilantro in a separate bowl.
- Serve the dressing and herbs along side of the noodle bowls with extra red chili sauce
- Each person adds their own dressing and tops with herbs.
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