I've been making some version of this recipe regularly for about eight years now, ever since I tried something similar at a hot-as-the-hinges-of-hell memorial picnic in July at a park in Louisville, Kentucky, and then immediately became obsessed with figuring out how to make it myself.
Now I make it all year round but crave it especially in the summer. For some reason, I often want it on a Sunday morning? It is so good cold and straight from the fridge for lunch (or breakfast, because I love non-breakfast breakfast).
I often make a double batch of this because we I devour it so fast.
(loosely adapted from this recipe)
2 to 3 tsp finely grated ginger (or 2 frozen ginger pods)
2 Tbsp vegetable or other neutral oil
7 to 8 oz dried rice noodles (vermicelli) or bean thread noodles
half of an English cucumber, peeled in stripes, halved lengthwise, seeds scooped out, and thinly shaved in crescents on a mandoline
3 or 4 radishes, trimmed and thinly shaved on a mandoline
4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 large carrot, peeled and thinly shaved on the bias on a mandoline
half of a large tomato (or several small cocktail or cherry tomatoes), diced and lightly salted on the cutting board
coarsely chopped cilantro or mint, chopped peanuts, lime wedges, sriracha
Prep all the vegetables except the tomatoes, adding them to a big bowl as you finish them. Keep the tomatoes on the cutting board to "marinate" in salt until you're ready to put everything together.
Mix together the dressing ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings. It should be assertively tart and salty.
I usually don't soak the rice noodles, but some people do soak them in warm water for 20 minutes before boiling to keep them from sticking/overcooking. I find that they don't stick together in the salad because there's plenty of dressing to loosen them up, so I skip that step. Anyway, soak or don't soak, as you prefer. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the noodles. Cook about 1 minute (more like 2, if you haven't soaked them), or until tender. Dump them into a colander and rinse with cool water until they're room temp. Drain well, squeezing them out. Coarsely chop them a few times with scissors right there in the colander.
Add the noodles to the big bowl with all of the vegetables, and use tongs or clean fingers to gently toss it all together.
Now gently toss everything with all but a couple of tablespoons of the dressing.
Serve in bowls and garnish with cilantro or mint, chopped peanuts, an extra squeeze of lime, sriracha, and/or additional dressing.
I don't actually get the mandoline out for this recipe. I find that the slicer side of the box grater works beautifully for shaving all the vegetables. I usually just set the grater in the big bowl and slice most of them right in.
If you're looking for a protein to put on top of the noodles, cold thinly-sliced leftover roast pork is amazing. So is leftover rotisserie chicken. So is a jammy boiled egg. Or some soy roasted tofu batons (pictured above). Or some fake ground "pork" crumbles made of tofu (pictured with recipe above). But also, these noodles are perfectly wonderful by themselves.
The original recipe calls for adding shredded Napa cabbage or romaine to the salad, and I've tried both and liked them fine, but I usually don't add them anymore because I actually prefer it without, and with the addition of radish, tomato, and cucumber instead. Do what makes you happy.
