Vermicelli salads are one of my favorite quick and easy recipes to toss together. There's nothing worse than a plain old salad with wilting lettuce and syrupy salad dressing. I really just dislike the idea of lettuce as an entire meal. Any time I ask if there are vegetarian options and someone enthusiastically says that there are salads? I'm going to cringe deep into my soul. Vegetarian food should be just as flavorful and filling as anything else. And, if you're going to call it a salad? It should be guilt-free. I'm sorry, but peas, cheddar cheese, and an entire tub of mayonnaise doesn't count as a salad! Hence, the vermicelli salad with tahini, tamari, rice vinegar, daikon, bell pepper, zucchini, tomato, bulb onion, sprouts, and walnuts.
I use brown rice vermicelli noodles, to give an almost no-fry stir fry feel and add in any and every produce that I have on hand. Vermicelli salads are a great way to clear out your fruit and vegetable crispers. I have a tendency to buy produce that looks good, without an actual plan for what I'm making. So, when I look around at all of the disparate ingredients at the end of the week and have no idea what to make with them? Vermicelli salads are a great answer. They're my favorite salad. I bring them to potlucks all of thee time. It's almost reminiscent of pasta salad, but in a new and refreshing way. It's also a great way to try out new produce that you don't always know what to do with!
Gallery
Variations of Daikon Vermicelli
I don't always know what to do with daikon. I'm always intrigued by them in the produce department when they're available. They're an enormous radish with a mild, slightly sweet taste. They're a great substitute in anything that calls for radish, carrots, turnips, parsnips, or most other root vegetables. I like to put mine through a rotary cheese grater to quickly grate it into smaller pieces. Although you can also slice them as well as mix and match any other fruits and vegetables of choice. Daikon works in a variety of dishes for an extra bite of flavor.
This Daikon Vermicelli Salad consists of tahini, tamari, rice vinegar, daikon, red bell pepper, zucchini, tomato, bulb onion, sprouts, and crushed walnuts.
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.
Assemble Salad
Mince and chop all of the produce and add to a large bowl.
It can help to mix the tamari, rice vinegar, and tahini 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 tofu, avocado, and sprouts. You can really mix the peanuts in at any time. However, sprouts go back 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.
Leave a Reply