By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- 15 minutes
- Prep Time
- Rating
- 4(128)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This incredibly refreshing salad is loosely based on a recipe for a Thai cellophane noodle salad in Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid’s “Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet.” The authentic recipe includes more garlic and chiles as well as dried shrimp. Make sure to cut up the noodles before you try to toss them with the other ingredients.
Featured in: On Hot Days, Cold Noodles Are a Welcome Choice
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves 4
- ½small green cabbage, finely shredded (about 4 cups)
- 4ounces cellophane noodles, soaked for 20 minutes in warm water
- ¼cup chopped roasted peanuts (more to taste)
- 1cup chopped cilantro
- 2eggs
- Salt to taste
- 2teaspoons sunflower oil or peanut oil
- 1 to 3serrano or Thai chiles, minced (to taste)
- 3tablespoons sunflower oil or peanut oil
- 2large garlic cloves, finely minced or pureed
- 2tablespoons minced ginger
- ½teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
- 1tablespoon fresh lime juice
- Salt to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
325 calories; 19 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 431 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Place the cabbage in a bowl and cover with ice water. Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Step
2
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Salt if desired. Drain the noodles and add to the pot. Boil for 1½ minutes, drain, rinse briefly with cold water and drain thoroughly. Using a scissors, chop coarsely and transfer to a bowl. Drain the cabbage and add to the bowl, along with the peanuts, cilantro and chile(s). Toss together.
Step
3
Beat one of the eggs in a bowl and season with salt to taste. Heat 1 teaspoon of the sunflower oil in an 8-inch nonstick skillet over high heat, or in a wok, and add the egg. Swirl the pan and let the egg spread out in a thin pancake. Lift the edges of the pancake to let egg run underneath. It should cook through quickly. Flip over and cook for a few seconds on the other side, then remove from the heat. Repeat with the other egg. Roll up the pancakes and cut in thin strips. Add half the egg shreds to the noodles and set the other half aside.
Step
4
Place the garlic, ginger and a generous pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle and pound to a coarse paste. Heat 1 tablespoon of the sunflower oil over medium heat in the same skillet or wok in which you cooked the eggs and add the paste and the red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl. Allow to cool slightly. Add the rice vinegar, the lime juice and the remaining 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil and whisk together. Taste and add salt. It should be somewhat salty. Toss with the noodle mixture. Transfer to a platter or a wide bowl, sprinkle the remaining egg shreds over the top, and serve.
- Advance preparation: The salad keeps well for a day in the refrigerator. Hold back the egg garnish, and toss again before serving.
Ratings
4
out of 5
128
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Cooking Notes
KT
Delicious dish! Please note it takes longer than 15 minutes to prepare Soaking the noodles is 20 minutes alone. Allow 40 minutes for your first time, 30 after some practice. Well worth it.
KB
This is very good, light and refreshing. I added mung bean sprouts for extra crunch. I thought there could have been a little more dressing. Used a little peanut sauce (bottled, had some in the fridge) as a condiment, that made a good dish even better.
SarahT
As usual this recipe took much longer to pull together than indicated and, while the end result was good, I really wished there were ways to streamline it. As some others noted, mung bean sprouts were a good addition - added some crunch, as did some strips of red pepper. I also agree that more sauce would be nice.
sue
savoy or nappa cabbage would work for me
Mh
Do you really need the eggs?
lynns
This was excellent. I added a little more vinegar and lime juice to it, and I added some fish sauce to it. Without those things, the dressing was a little too subtle for my taste. But afterward, wow. Everything else was done as directed, except I used the last of a cucumber in it too. And yes, it was great the next day as well.
Kit K
I doubled the dressing and was glad I did. More peanuts would have been good, as would maybe toasting the peanuts in a dry pan to up their flavor. Overall, really good.
Sher
With the recipe as inspiration I used Korean glass noodles (sweet potato) that I had on hand and added julienned carrot because I misremembered when I was prepping. Based on the comments I made 1.5 times the sauce and added a dollop of Gochujang to compliment the noodles. Forgot to add the additional oil and didn’t miss it. Blooming the aromatics really makes the dishI realize that I made an entirely different recipe but it was absolutely delicious. NOT a fifteen minute recipe.
Anna
More peanuts would not have been amiss. Certainly took longer than 15 minutes. But, super tasty and minimal cooking on a hot day.
SarahT
As usual this recipe took much longer to pull together than indicated and, while the end result was good, I really wished there were ways to streamline it. As some others noted, mung bean sprouts were a good addition - added some crunch, as did some strips of red pepper. I also agree that more sauce would be nice.
Roger
'Incredible'? A good recipe, as are many by this wife-and-husband team of world travelers, but-- hardly beyond belief. Sloppy talk.
KB
This is very good, light and refreshing. I added mung bean sprouts for extra crunch. I thought there could have been a little more dressing. Used a little peanut sauce (bottled, had some in the fridge) as a condiment, that made a good dish even better.
KB
This is light and refreshing. I added some mung bean sprouts for extra crunch. The only thing that I would suggest is that there could be more dressing. We used a little (bottled) peanut sauce as a condiment and that made a good dish even more delicious.
lisa
So worth the effort - light and delicious, incredibly flavorful!
cathy
Delicious, I might increase the the amount of noodles. Plus, since we used this as a main dish, I would add grilled chicken or salmon
KT
Delicious dish! Please note it takes longer than 15 minutes to prepare Soaking the noodles is 20 minutes alone. Allow 40 minutes for your first time, 30 after some practice. Well worth it.
sue
savoy or nappa cabbage would work for me
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