Fresh Asian Rice Noodle Bowl! Raw veggies, on top of seasoned rice noodles with limes, cilantro and crushed peanuts! So easy and delicious! The perfect meal on a hot day!
I love Asian food. Depending on what it is, there’s something so fresh, vibrant and flavorful about it. Spring Rolls, Kim bap, soba noodles or this lovely bowl of brown rice noodles with fresh vegetables. Eating Asian food like this doesn’t leave me feeling full and heavy but comfortable and satisfied. And because I ate a healthy meal, I feel like I can reward myself with a little something sweet for dessert.
Makes perfect sense to me.
I recently got a garden plot in my community garden and will be planting and growing my own fruits and vegetables this summer. I am so excited. So, the plan is obviously to eat more veggies and to try a variety of things. I absolutely love recipes where you are eating raw vegetables with it. To me, that’s about as healthy as healthy gets. And you get your meal on the table in under 25 minutes. You can’t beat that.
Asian Rice Noodle Bowl
If you enjoy Asian food, give this Asian Noodle Bowl a try. It’s quick, light, refreshing and flavorful! I hope you enjoy!
Fresh Asian Noodle Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 package regular firm tofu; sliced into thin strips try to let tofu rest on paper towels beforehand so as to remove/drain some of the water. Pat down thoroughly with the paper towels
- salt and pepper
- 8 oz. package of brown rice (or rice) noodles like pad thai noodles or noodles for pho, or you can use vermicelli noodles
- 2 English cucumbers julienned
- 2 large carrots peeled and julienned; or you can simply use your vegetable peeler to create carrot curls
- 2 cups variety of bell peppers orange, yellow and red; thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup sweet red chili sauce like the Thai Kitchen brand
- 1/3 cup brown rice vinegar
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
Toppings:
- peanuts crushed (you can place peanuts in a plastic bag and smash with a rolling pin)
- green onion finely diced
- fresh cilantro
- sriracha sauce optional
- lime wedges
- sesame oil for garnish
Instructions
- Over medium-high heat, add the sesame oil in a non-stick pan for about 2 minutes. Add the sliced, somewhat dry tofu and fry until golden brown, flipping as you are cooking them. Season with salt and pepper if desired. When finished, set aside on a paper towel lined plate.
- In a large pot of boiling water, cook the noodles according to package directions. Most rice noodles only need to be cooked for 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- For the dressing: Using a small bowl or mason jar with lid, mix together the sweet red chili sauce, brown rice vinegar and soy sauce. Shake or whisk together and drizzle over the noodles (start with only HALF the dressing mixture) and toss together. Use more if needed.
- To plate: portion out the noodles and top with the sliced vegetables and tofu. Sprinkle on the chopped peanuts, green onions, fresh cilantro, sriracha (if using) and add a lime wedge or two. I like to add an extra drizzle of soy sauce and sesame oil over the top before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Flourishing Foodie. If you have not seen/read Heather’s blog. You simply must. It’s absolutely gorgeous and stunning. I am inspired by her blog all the time.
