Summer Roll Noodle Salad

Packed with bold flavors and textures, this recipe is inspired by Vietnamese summer rolls and is sure to be a hit all season long. To make this plant-based, swap the shrimp for tofu. The peanutty, deeply savory dressing can be made several days ahead.

Serves 4-6
Recipe adapted from cooking.nytimes.com

Ingredients

Salad

• 4 ounces rice vermicelli noodles
• 1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp, tails on or off (thawed if frozen) or 1 (14 oz) package extra firm tofu, pressed and sauteed/roasted
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon avocado oil
• 1 ½ cups tightly packed mixed herb leaves (such as cilantro, mint and Thai basil), torn if large
• ¾ cup roasted and salted peanuts, chopped or crushed
• 1 ½ cups shredded carrots (about 4 ½ ounces, from about 3 medium carrots)
• 1 cup bean sprouts (about 3 ½ ounces)
• 2 handfuls (about 2 ounces) tender baby lettuce leaves (such as red leaf, green leaf, butter or a combination)

Dressing

• 1 Thai chile, thinly sliced (seeded for a milder dressing)
• 2 to 3 large limes
• ¾ cup smooth peanut butter
• 2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 Tablespoon freshly grated garlic (about 3 large cloves) or 2 rehydrated Maranatha farm Garlic Coins
• 1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger, from a 1 ½” piece or 2 rehydrated Maranatha Farm Ginger Coins
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1 Tablespoon avocado oil
• 1 Tablespoon Coconut Aminos

Method

1. Cook the rice vermicelli noodles according to package instructions. Immediately transfer to a colander and rinse under cold water. Set aside to drain well.
2. While the noodles cook, make the dressing. Place the sliced chile in a large bowl. Zest the limes until you have 1 teaspoon zest and add to the bowl. Juice the limes over the chile (about ½ cup juice) and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the peanut butter, hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, honey, oil and coconut aminos and whisk to combine. Whisk in 2 tablespoons warm water to loosen (if the dressing is still too thick, add a touch more lime juice.) Reserve ½ cup of the dressing for drizzling.
3. Season the shrimp lightly with salt and pepper. In a large (preferably nonstick) skillet, heat the oil over medium-high until shimmering, about 1 ½ minutes. Arrange the shrimp in a single layer and cook, undisturbed, until just opaque, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until just fully cooked, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer the shrimp to a large plate to prevent overcooking.
4. Add the noodles, half the herbs, and half the peanuts to the bowl with the dressing and toss until the noodles are well coated. Top with the carrots, bean sprouts, lettuce and shrimp. Spoon the remaining dressing over the vegetables and shrimp and top with the remaining herbs and peanuts.