How much do I love the flavors of Southeast Asia? To put it eloquently…so much. Really a lot.
❤❤❤❤❤This much❤❤❤❤❤
Vietnamese, Thai, and Cambodian are my faves and they’re all slightly different in their flavor profile, but all equally delicious. I cook recipes inspired from this part of the world a lot, because they are full of fresh veggies and it’s really easy to throw together something clean, healthy and delicious. The inspiration for this recipe came from a traditional rice noodle salad, but I wanted to try a combo green and noodle salad so I swapped out the rice noodles for zucchini and added greens, to ramp up the nutrition and because it’s all about the veggies for me. You could use rice noodles if you like!
If you like boring, bland salads, then this is not the salad for you. So much flavor is packed into this simple salad! Between the fragrant dressing (which doubles as a marinade), a combo of tangy, salty, lime-y flavor, and the clean, cool, freshness from the mint and cilantro, it’s just….a flavor explosion. Plus, the unexpected crunchy texture of the zucchini…so, so good! Next time I make it I’ll add some shredded carrot for even more crunch and color, but it was pretty perfect just like this. Just nice and green.
Also, don’t be afraid of the fish sauce! Yes, it smells nasty, if you’re going to sniff the bottle, but don’t skip this ingredient. It is key to getting the saltiness and that authentic Southeast Asian flavor.
To accompany this salad I tossed some shrimp in 1/4 cup of the dressing before grilling them and it was delicious! A perfect, light summer meal, easy enough for any night of the week.
Vietnamese Zucchini Noodle Salad
Ingredients:
2 large zucchini, spiralized
4 cups mixed greens or chopped romaine lettuce
1/4 cup fresh mint, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, very thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
juice and zest from one lime
1 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
3 tablespoons Braggs Liquid Aminos or coconut aminos (can also substitute soy sauce or tamari)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
Directions:
In a small bowl add the garlic, lime zest, lime juice, fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, Braggs (or soy sauce), fresh ginger, olive oil and rice vinegar. Mix well and set aside. **
Add 4 cups of lettuce to a salad bowl.
Using a spiralizer, create your zucchini “noodles”. If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can create zucchini “ribbons” using a vegetable peeler. Peel down the length of each zucchini to create ribbons. Stop when you get to the seeds in the center. Add “noodles” to your salad bowl. Add mint, cilantro and red onion and toss well.
Add 1/2 cup (or to taste) of dressing to your salad and mix well.
**This dressing makes a great marinade for shrimp or chicken to serve with your salad! This should give you enough dressing for both a marinade (1/4 cup) and dressing (1/2 cup) for your salad.
