Five Spice Tofu and Crispy Noodle Salad with a Peanut Sauce

You can prepare this dish from many different types of vegetables and some fruit varieties such as mango and paw paw also work well. In this recipe I use deep fried rice stick noodles but you can use vermicilli noodles if you prefer and for a healthy alternatively simply boil the noodles rather than deep frying them.

people_outline
6 Portions:
access_time
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes

Ingredients

Vegetables

  • 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
  • half a cucumber, sliced thinly into quarters
  • 50g bean sprouts
  • 100g mange tout, cut into 3
  • 1/3 chinese lettuce, shredded
  • handful of Thai basil leaves or normal basil leaves, roughly shredded
  • handful of coriander leaves, stalks finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
  • 2 red chillies, finely chopped (with or with out seeds)
  • 1 tsp lemon grass, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp roasted peanuts, roughly chopped (optional)
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • juice of 1/4 lime

Noodles

  • 50g vermicelli noodles, cooked until just tender and refreshed in cold water

Peanut Sauce

  • 5 tbsp cruncy peanut butter
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • 2 tbps fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp basil leaves, deep fried (optional)
  • 2 tbsp coriander leave, deep fried (optional)
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled, finely sliced and deep fried (optional)
  • 1 tbsp peanut, roasted (optional)

Method

  1. Vegetables and Noodles: Place all the vegetable ingredients and noodles in the bowl and toss them so that they are well distributed.
  2. Dressing: Mix the dressing ingredients together in a bowl or shake them together in a jar. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss it through the salad so that it is well distributed.
  3. To Serve: Serve the salad garnished with basil leaves, coriander, garlic and peanuts. If preparing the dish in advance refrigerate and bring it to room temperature before serving it.