I have radish ripening in the garden. Last week I used my English breakfast radish for Falafel w/ Hummus, Tzatziki, Radish, & Sprouts. But today I have white icicle radish that absolutely is ready to come out of the ground! I've also been obsessed with vermicelli lately. It's a thin brown rice noodle that is often found in stir fries. Although I've been really craving fresh produce lately, though. As fun as it is to cook everything together, the flavors tend to permeate into one another. This, while making everything cohesive, doesn't let each ingredient shine on its own. Which is where vermicelli salad comes in.
I've been obsessed with making these fresh salads with vermicelli, tahini, tamari, rice vinegar, and whatever produce that I have on hand. It's incredibly flavorful and goes in wonderful tandem with with fresh ingredients. So, when I pulled thee radish out of the ground, my first thought was immediately vermicelli salad. I've also been experimenting with what kind of nuts and other ingredients. Today I tried out crushed peanuts, fried tofu, and lime. Which is hands down probably the most visually stunning salad that I have made! And absolutely delicious on top of it.
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Variations of Vermicelli Salad
Vermicelli is my new obsession. It has a subtle flavor that pairs incredibly well with fresh produce. It's the perfect kind of dish to make again and again with whatever new produce you have on hand or that strikes your fancy. You can easily mix and match in any amount of fresh fruits and vegetables. I used radish from my garden this time around. But it's also a great dish to add in anything that's freshly ripening or that you need to use up.
This vermicelli salad combines radish, carrot, bell pepper, ginger, garlic, shallot, tamari, rice vinegar, tahini, lime juice, and sprouts with crushed peanuts and lightly fried tofu. Vermicelli salads are a great versatile recipe that you can toss together in no time. Everything, except for the tofu, is raw and can just be julienned and tossed into a bowl together. I like to add sticks of fried tofu for a lightly fried crunch. Although feel free to mix and match your own favorite ingredients are. This is a fun recipe to play around with and cater to your personal culinary tastes and preferences. I also got the radish out of my garden, so that's always a fun addition.
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.
Add in sprouts, tofu, and peanuts afterwards. Sprouts go bad much faster than the other ingredients, so I don't mix them in until serving and store them separately.
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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