Although Vietnam is one of the South Eastern Asian countries, where I’ve never been to, I already loved Vietnamese cuisine for a long time. This is one of the main reasons why I will travel there the upcoming weeks instead of freezing my butt off in Germany. Later this day my flight to Ho-Chi-Minh-City takes off and the upcoming recipe for bun chay is my farewell before diving into Vietnamese culture.
Vietnamese cuisine stands for a special freshness and lightness evoked by herbs like mint, coriander and all kinds of basil but also by fresh lime juice and the right amount of chili. These components play a main part in bun chay. Bun chay is a kind of lukewarm noodle salad with tofu and this is my very own version, of course 100% vegan and 100% cheerful. If you can’t get enough of Vietnamese cuisine, also try this Banh Mi recipe.
Bún Chay - Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad
Ingredients
RICE NOODLE SALAD
- 200 g rice vermicelli
- 1 carrot
- 1/2 cucumber
- 1 bunch herbs, e.g. mint, coriander, thai-basil
- 1/3 lettuce, e.g. head lettuce or iceberg
- 150 g tofu
- 2 tbsp neutrale vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp sweet chili sauce, optional
- 4 tbsp fried onion
- 4 tbsp peanuts
DRESSING
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 thumbnail sized piece ginger
- 1 chili
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 limes
Preparation
- Whisk together sugar, lime juice, vinegar and soy sauce in a small bowl. Peel ginger and garlic. Finely chop ginger, garlic and chili. Add to the bowl, stir again and set aside until everything is done.
- Roast the peanuts in a pan without oil. Finely chop or grind them up. Quarter one half of the cucumber lengthwise, cut out the watery core and cut the rest into small strips. Wash or peel the carrot and julienne as well. Wash and dry the salad and cut into bite sized chunks. Wash and dry the herbs and tear into bits. Cook the rice vermicelli according to package instructions.
- Meanwhile dice the tofu and fry from all sides in a pan with the vegetable oil. Optional: Add sweet chili sauce in the end.
- Divide the noodles onto two large bowls. Put salad, carrot, cucumber and tofu on top. Sprinkle with herbs, peanuts and fried onion. Serve the dressing extra in small bowls. Now everyone can start his own tasty mess armed with chopsticks and a spoon.
The dressing is fantastic! It will be a staple in my fridge. Thanks.
Great idea, Lisa. Makes your fridge automatically a better bridge. 😉 Cheers Andi
Thank you a lot for your recipes! they all seem delicious 🙂
greetings from São Paulo
Obrigado, Bruna!
Cheers
Andi
Made this three times now, didn’t have the chili so I just cut the sugar to 2TBSP and added a few TBSP of sweet chili sauce. Also threw in some left over carnitas since we aren’t vegan and don’t do tofu. Absolutely delicious and a part of our regular meal plan now, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your feedback, Erin. Really glad that you like the bún recipe and that it’s part of your regular meal plan now. 🙂
Cheers
Andi