This Asian-style salad combines glass noodles with fresh herbs, vegetables and shredded chicken with an addictive creamy hoisin dressing that clings to the slippery noodles. The zingy salty lime cashew crumble really makes it, so don’t skip it! Terrific no-cook meal for hot summer nights.
Glass noodle salad
This is one of those summer-time showstopper salads that makes you me believe you I could become a clean-eating goddess because even though you’re I’m usually the kind of person who goes ga-ga over fall-apart meat, one bite of this and woah…… How can healthy be so darn delicious???
The star of today’s salad is glass noodles, those delicate thin, transparent noodles that look just like rice vermicelli noodles except they are see-through. Like glass. Hence, the name!
Combine those with a simple-yet-incredible hoisin dressing that clings rather than slides off the slippery noodles, fresh herbs, vegetables and shredded chicken, to make it a meal (or not!). Then finish with a shower of what I’m calling a lime cashew crumble, a ridiculously easy-to-make finishing touch that elevates this dish from mmmm this is so good to holy moly, how can a SALAD be so freakin’ delicious!!
What are glass noodles, and please tell me I can get them at my local shops!
Yes you can! Asian aisle, dried thin white noodle sticks labelled bean thread vermicelli noodles or variations thereof: bean thread glass noodles, glass noodles, or just bean thread. The packet I get is pictured above.
Made from the starch of mung beans, they’re also commonly known as cellophane noodles and just require soaking in boiling water to rehydrate.
Typically in Asian cuisines, they’re used in soups, spring rolls, and stir fries. Today I’m using it in a salad because they make for a perfect no-cook satisfying salad for a summertime meal!
Can’t find glass noodles? No problems! Rice vermicelli noodles make a perfect substitute. They’re not see through. But that’s ok, we shall survive! 😂
What you need for this Glass Noodle Salad
I’ve made this salad as a meal by adding a good amount of chicken. But feel free to add more vegetables instead to make it a side salad, or a meat-free meal.
Try not to skip the fresh herbs, they bring such a lovely freshness to this salad! Also, don’t skip the lime cashew crumble. Make it once, and you’ll understand why I say that.
Bean thread / glass noodles / cellophane noodles – all the names these noodles go by! See above for a close up photo. Find it in the Asian or noodle aisle of grocery stores. Or, you can substitute with vermicelli noodles in a pinch!
Shredded chicken – It’s ok, you can just buy a roast chicken and shred the meat! 🙂 Otherwise, poach your own chicken breast or use any relatively plain flavoured leftover roast chicken or other meat you have. Shred it or slice into batons.
For a meat-free alternative or to make this into a veg-loaded side salad, just skip the chicken and add more vegetables.
Carrot, cucumber and cabbage – The vegetables I’ve opted for. I like to julienne the carrot and cabbage so they jumble up nicely with the noodles. I cut the cucumber a little larger on an angle for some textural contrast – it’s nice to bite into some fresh juicy crunch!
Other vegetable suggestions – bean sprouts (handy no prep!), asparagus (finely slice on angle), crisp lettuce (finely slice), green beans (cook and cool), green papaya (shredded – see here for how), cherry tomatoes (halved), radish (julienned), lightly steamed Asian greens (cut into 7.5cm/3″ lengths), broccolini (cut into thin batons, lightly steamed).
Mint & coriander/cilantro – These herbs bring a fabulous South East Asian freshness to this salad! Really try not to skip these, if you can. But if you don’t have them (or are one of those coriander/cilantro haters) they can be skipped and it will still be a super tasty salad thanks to the dressing.
The Hoisin dressing
Glass noodles are slippery little suckers, so it’s good to make the dressing a little thicker so it clings to the noodles better. To do this, I use a touch of mayonnaise.
Kewpie mayonnaise – Don’t get turned off by the inclusion of mayonnaise in the dressing! It’s just 1 1/2 tablespoons, and as noted above, it makes the dressing a little creamy so it clings to the slippery noodles better. Plus, we’re using Kewpie mayonnaise. Everyone knows this Japanese mayo is the best one around! (But it’s ok, you won’t ruin the recipe if you use another type of mayo but you will do me proud if you get Kewpie).
Soy sauce – Provides the saltiness in the dressing.
Hoisin – flavour, touch of sweetness and also helps thicken the dressing because hoisin is a thick sauce. Love the Chinese five spice flavour in it.
Chinese five spice powder – For more five spice flavour goodness! This is a spice blend available at everyday grocery stores. It’s a spice mix made with star anise, cloves, Chinese cinnamon, fennel and Sichuan pepper that is used widely in Chinese cooking as well as other Asian cuisines such as Vietnamese.
Rice vinegar – An Asian vinegar made out of (wait for it…..) rice! Using rice vinegar is on theme for this Asian flavoured salad, but you can substitute with apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
Sesame oil and canola oil – Sesame oil for flavour, and canola oil to make up the rest of the oil required so the sesame flavour isn’t too strong.
Fresh ginger – The dressing only calls for 3/4 teaspoon of finely grated ginger, for background flavour. I don’t use a lot because there’s plenty of other flavours going on. But feel free to dial it up!
Lime cashew crumble (don’t skip this!)
This is a fabulous, effortless finishing touch that gives this noodle salad that je ne sais quoi! It’s limey, salty and sweet, and makes cashews even better than they already are. Here’s all you need:
Thank you for inventing this Chef JB. We love your clever, simple ideas like this that make food even tastier with such little effort!
How to make glass noodle salad
Far out – what a treat – a 4 step recipe. 😂
Soak glass noodles in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes until they become transparent and soften. Then drain and when cool enough to handle, loosen the tangle of noodles.
Note: Some packets will say to soak in cold water. Ignore it. Or – try it, get annoyed when it doesn’t work, drain then soak in boiling water. (That would be me.)
Toss lime cashew ingredients in a bowl. They can be used immediately or set aside for a while until needed.
Shake dressing ingredients in a jar.
Toss – Place all the salad ingredients except the lime cashews in a bowl and pour over the dressing. Toss well. Then add half the cashews and toss through. Pour into a large serving bowl or individual serving bowls, then sprinkle over the remaining cashews. Dive in!
How I make this noodle salad ahead
If you’re wanting to get ahead, you can prepare all the components separately ahead of time then toss them together just prior to serving. This is what I do – everything is kept in the fridge. You can just put everything in one large container, just keep them separated:
Noodles – soak, drain, rinse, detangle, cool.
Cabbage, carrot and cucumber – slice, store in container.
Shredded chicken – store in container.
Mint and coriander / cilantro leaves – Pick, wash, dry, store in paper towel lined container, covered with paper towel then a lid.
Lime crumble – make and keep in the fridge. If you made it a day+ ahead, give it a fresh spritz of lime juice and zest.
Dressing – shake in jar, store in fridge.
If you do this, the salad can be made up to 3 days ahead (the chicken will dictate the shelf life). Handy for meal prep / work lunches.
Hope you love this as much as I do! – Nagi x
PS In case you’re looking, more salads with substance this way -> Salad Meals recipe collection.
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Glass noodle salad (cellophane / bean thread noodles)
Ingredients
Glass noodle salad:
- 100 g / 3.5 oz bean thread vermicelli noodles / cellophane noodles (Note 1)
- 3 cups shredded cooked chicken (about 1/2 store bought roast chicken) (Note 2)
- 2 packed cups (180g) green cabbage, finely sliced
- 1 cucumber , cut in half, sliced 3mm / 1/8″ thick on the diagonal
- 1 carrot , peeled then julienned
- 2 green onion stems , finely sliced on a diagonal
- 1 cup lightly packed coriander/cilantro leaves
- 1 cup lightly packed mint leaves
Lime cashew crumble:
- 1 cup unsalted roasted cashew nuts , roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp lime zest
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 3/4 tsp caster sugar / superfine sugar (sub ordinary / granulated)
- 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
Creamy hoisin dressing:
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp kewpie mayonnaise (or other mayo) (Note 3)
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 3/4 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
- 1/4 tsp Chinese five spice powder (Note 4)
Instructions
- Glass noodles: Place dry noodles in a bowl and cover with freshly boiled water. Leave for 3 to 4 minutes or until transparent and softened. Drain using a colander, rinse under tap water (for rapid cool and reduce stickiness) then detangle using your fingers. Drain thoroughly before use. Set aside to fully cool.
- Lime cashew crumble: Place ingredients in a bowl and toss. (No marinating time needed)
- Dressing: Place ingredients in a jar and shake until well combined.
- Salad: Place glass noodle salad ingredients in a large bowl. Pour over dressing, toss well. Add half the cashews, toss again.
- Serve: Transfer to a large salad bowl or individual bowls. Sprinkle with remaining lime cashew crumble and serve!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
I love noodle salads.
Proof!
Life of Dozer
Perfectly positioned on the cow hide rug…… a little disturbing, perhaps!!!
Ange Hadfield says
This was delicious & had leftovers for lunch again today & loved it again. I have never been a fan of vermicelli noodles, but Nagi’s tip soaking them in boiling water was a game changer & made sure i gave them time to cool & separate. Super fresh & tasty. I did poach my chicken, just because I had the time. A BBQ chook would work great too. Thanks Nagi, another win!!
Laura says
Absolutely delicious, highly recommend. Perfect dinner for a hot summer night!
Steph says
Amazing! So fresh and healthy. I add bean sprouts as I had some to finish up in the fridge.
The dressing is divine and the cashews add that extra unami in the salad. Deffo going to be a regualr meal in the house
Sha says
I’ve made this twice now and we are addicted! My wife even said this is better than kfc! If that’s not a compliment I don’t what is! So easy and delicious.
Ruth says
This salad is excellent. So tasty and filling as a lunch meal, especially during this heatwave. No cooking, throw it together and everyone enjoys it.
Laura says
This was fabulous! I added bean sprouts and cherry tomatoes and this really helped bulk it up (not that it needed it, I just like bean sprouts!) but I would add them again! I poached my chicken too earlier in the day which meant it was super juicy. The lime cashew crumble is awesome and gives it a phenomenal flavour. Just an all-round hit.
Sarah says
Excellent salad recipe, really quick to put together and tasty! Don’t skip the lime cashew crumble – it is delicious!
Violaine Joly says
Love this salad. So easy and full of flavour. A regular on my lunch menu.
Smita says
Yummy!! Amazing, perfect on a hot summer night ☺️
Sarah says
Like everyone else, I thought this was delicious! I made the dressing a couple days ahead just to have it ready when I wanted to assemble everything. And since I was surprised to find I didn’t have a cucumber, I sliced up a red bell pepper. Sooooo good! The lime is really subtle and lightens everything up. I’ll definitely make this again. Thank you for another amazing recipe!
Zoe says
Perfect for summer nights. Agree with other commenters that it’s a forgiving recipe. Didn’t have Chinese 5 Spice on hand and upped the veggie ratio (also added red capsicum) to still have a really tasty dish.
Subs: I used iceberg lettuce instead of cabbage and vermicelli instead of glass noodles.
Rachael says
Made this for dinner last night because I was looking for something light, fresh and tasty. This one absolutely hit the mark – so good!! The whole family loved it and have asked for it to be a regular meal. Lots leftover and already enjoyed for lunch today. Thanks Nagi!!
Amelia says
Wow what a tasty salad! So easy to prepare. It’s 100% worth making the lime cashew crumble. You can save some time by buying coleslaw salad mix which has precut cabbage and carrots.
Thanks Nagi & JB!
Michelle Goodman says
Wow! I’m in salad heaven!
Tamara says
It’s 95 degrees here in Florida and this is SO good and refreshing! My mint grows like crazy so I’m always looking for recipes to use it. I only wish I had more of the cashew crumble! Will make more for next time 😉
Pam says
At the moment it’s in the 30’sC every day in France, I just loved the flavour combinations along with the crisp and crunchy texture, always make enough for a quick lunch the next day but not tomorrow as husband devoured it all.
Kansas says
Wow, wow wow wow. So good. I’ve tried many glass noodle salad recipes and this one is the best. I added extra lime juice as I found the kewpie mayonnaise just a *tad* overpowering, swapped the chicken for prawns, and used peanuts instead of cashews. Amazing, seriously amazing. Thank you for sharing your genius!
Mary L Tognazzini says
I’M NOT WAITING FOR A HOT SUMMER NIGHT. TODAY WORKS FOR ME. 🙂
Julie Schuch says
Would peanuts taste as good as cashews?
Andrew says
Another excellent and simple recipe – so tasty.
We swapped the chicken for prawns and as we had no cabbage use romaine lettuce. Really enjoyed it on a cold February night in the UK – just think what this will taste like al fresco in the summer!