This salad makes a delicious dinner when the weather gets warm and an easy lunch. You can make it the day ahead and take it to work. As you’ll see it’s seriously simple to make, simple food is where it’s at for week day lunches.

You can add whatever vegetables are in season and local to this, you just want things that you can shred or julienne so the texture is right with the vermicelli noodles. This can be vegan with some easy switch outs such as adding a bit more soy instead of the fish sauce and adding some extra vegetables instead of the chicken. I’m always trying to fit more veg in my diet and this salad should give you 2+ serves at lunch which is a great start.

For more healthy lunch ideas check out my favourite healthy lunch hacks, for the recipe just keep on reading…

Serves 4

Ingredients

100g rice vermicelli noodles

2 cups shredded cabbage

1 chilli, finely sliced

2 carrots (spiralized or shredded)

1.5 cups snow peas, finely sliced

3 spring onions, finely sliced

1 inch piece of ginger grated

1 Tbs sesame seeds, toasted

1 Tbs sunflower seeds, toasted

2 Tbs almonds or peanuts, toasted

1 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp fish sauce

1/2 tsp sesame oil

Juice of half a lime (slice the cheeks off to serve with and squeeze the juice from the centre bit)

1/2 tsp Chinese cooking wine or sake

1 cup coriander leaves

1/2 cup mint leaves, finely sliced

1 cup sliced cucumber (halved first)

1 cup bean shoots

Optional: 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I used left over poached chicken from this salad recipe)

Directions

Soak noodles in hot water as per directions on the pan. Drain and cool under cold water.

Make the dressing by combining the ginger, lime juice, soy sauce, cooking wine, fish sauce and sesame oil.

Mix the cabbage, snow peas, carrots, chilli, all but 1 Tbs of the spring onions, noodles, chicken (if using) and the dressing together until well combined. Then toss through the toasted nuts.

Serve and top each portion with 1/4 of the cucumber, bean shoots and coriander. Enjoy!

HH. x