One of my favorite things to make is vermicelli salad. It's quick and easy to toss together. Vermicelli is a very thin pasta that cooks by bringing water to a boil, removing from heat, and adding the noodles. No timing. No waiting. It's likely one of those noodles that would cook in the microwave in one of those ready-to-eat jars of noodles. While the water's boiling, I'll chop up whatever fruits and vegetables I have on hand. Maybe toss in some tofu for some extra crunch. And toss tahini, tamari, and rice vinegar. Today, I used yellow summer squash, red bell pepper, zucchini, and extra firm tofu in this vermicelli salad. Although it's a great recipe to mix and match your own favorite produce.
I like to slice up the zucchini and yellow summer squash fairly large because they will soften over time and I still like having that crunch when I eat it throughout the week. You can slice them into more bite-sized pieces, if you prefer! The sky is the limit with this lettuce-less salad.
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Variations of Zucchini Vermicelli Salad
I make a plethora of vermicelli salads. They're a quick and easy dish to toss together with whatever produce you have on hand. Whenever I don't quite know what to make and have a disparate amount of fruits and vegetables lying around, my lazy day go-to is vermicelli salads. The noodles cook in about 60 seconds and it takes no time at all to chop up a couple of zucchini or summer squash. I like to add tofu for a little extra pop of lightly fried tofu. Although you can also omit it or substitute any number of toppings.
Add about 4 inches of water to a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
Cook vermicelli according to the manufacturer's instructions.Vermicelli cooks very quickly. I tend to add the vermicelli and then immediately remove it from heat. Then, go on to prepare the produce. Merely sitting in the once boiling water is sufficient enough soften it enough to eat without overcooking.
Fry Tofu
While the pot is boiling for the vermicelli, drain the water out of the tofu and cut into cubes.
Wrap in paper towels to absorb the moisture.It's important to absorb as much water out of the tofu as you can. Oil is less dense than water, so the molecules repel one another. With cold ingredients, this causes separation. When you're frying at high temperatures, though, this can cause boiling hot oil to spray back at you.
Meanwhile, preheat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
When the skillet has preheated and the majority of the water has absorbed into the paper towels, carefully add the tofu to the skillet. Fry until golden brown. This should take about 2-4 minutes. Rotate until all sides are evenly fried.
Remove from heat and wrap again in paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Assemble Salad
Mince and chop all of the produce and add to a large bowl.
It can help to mix the tamari, rice vinegar, tahini, and lime together in a separate bowl and then mix in. Although this isn't explicitly necessary as long as the tahini doesn't clump together.
Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator for about an hour. I'm quite fond of this dish at room temperature or mixed in with salmon or scrambled eggs. It keeps incredibly well in the refrigerator, though. There's enough sodium and acidity in the mix to last for about a week without the produce browning. The liquid will start to separate and just need stirring before serving again.
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