Recipe: Vietnamese-style prawn noodle salad
This Vietnamese-style prawn noodle salad is a lower sugar and lower carb version of the vermicelli-based salads that I love especially when the weather is warm.
Konjac noodles are a low energy and low carbohydrate alternative to regular noodles. However, as mentioned in my 5 easy low-carb swaps article, they don’t absorb sauces like regular noodles do. This is why I don’t like them as substitute for pasta dishes but I find them perfect as a substitute for vermicelli in salads and similar applications. I normally Slendier spaghetti but there are other brands available in supermarkets and health food stores.
Traditional Vietnamese dressing is usually high in sugar and there is usually a lot of dressing in takeaway salads. Using a natural sweetener (I use monkfruit) allows you to be liberal with the dressing quantity without worrying about the sugar content.
I used frozen peeled and cooked prawns to save time but you can use raw prawns and cook them yourself. If you don’t like prawns, feel free to use your favourite protein source such as chicken, pork, beef, tofu, other seafood, or a combination.
In addition of being low-carb and low-sugar, this recipe is also gluten-free. Enjoy!
Vietnamese-style prawn noodle salad
Ingredients
- 300 g peeled and cooked prawns
- 400 g konjac noodles see above for recommendation
- 1 Lebanese cucumber
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 handful coriander leaves
- 1 handful mint leaves
Dressing
- 2 tbsp water
- 1.5 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp sweetener see above for recommendation
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- fresh red chilli optional, finely chopped
To serve
- 2 tbsp roasted peanuts
- fresh red chilli optional, sliced
- lime wedges optional
Instructions
- If your prawns are frozen, defrost them in the microwave and pat dry with paper towels.
- Follow the preparation instructions for the noodles.
- Cut cucumber in quarters lengthwise and remove seeds with your knife. Cut cucumber in matchsticks.
- Peel and cut carrot in matchsticks.
- Roughly tear herbs with your hands.
- Place water, fish sauce, vinegar, lime juice, sweetener and garlic powder in a small bowl and whisk until sweetener is dissolved. Add chilli if using.
- Serve vermicelli at the bottom of a bowl. Arrange vegetables, prawns and herbs on top, pour dressing on top of everything. Garnish with peanuts, chilli slices and a lime wedge.
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