Asian broccoli vermicelli salad

Finally the sun has returned and the warm weather has arrived… London has been super hot in the last couple of weeks. 🥵🥵🥵

Sadly, I am one of those vampires who love grey and grumpy British weather. Sun makes me depressed, and the pollen triggers my hay fever. At one point last week I thought I was going to sneeze my eyes out. I also have low energy in the summer, and my appetite drops down to zero.

So, for this weather I need something light, easy to make, and refreshing. This vermicelli noodle salad is my all-time favourite in the summer. It’s inspired by a popular Vietnamese dish Bún Chả, which is either grilled meat or tofu served with cold vermicelli noodles and fresh, crunchy salad in a tangy vinegar dressing.

Essentially, this dish is just a Bún Chả without the grilled tofu. When the weather is too hot I just can’t be bothered 🙈🙈 and most importantly, this dish tastes amazing, so why not!

Follow the instructions on the vermicelli packaging – either boiling or soaking the vermicelli in hot water.

I wish I could give more direction and timing for the vermicelli, but each brand is so different. For example, the one I used this time only required 5 minutes of soaking.

Once the vermicelli noodles are soft give them a few cuts so they’re shorter and easier to mix with the salad later.

Rinse the vermicelli noodles with ice-cold water and chill until they are completely cool. Drain and shake out any excess water. You may also squeeze them gently by hand to get out all the water. We don’t want a watery salad.

Chop the broccoli into small bite-sized pieces and boil for just 3-5 minutes.

Rinse and drain the cooked broccoli in ice-cold water, just as we did with the vermicelli noodles, and set aside.

Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small mixing bowl and mix well.

Add all the salad ingredients and the dressing to a large bowl and toss.

Sprinkle chopped peanuts on top and serve with a couple of extra lime wedges.

If you’re looking for more cold noodle inspiration this summer, you may also want to check out my cold soba noodles and cold soba noodles with tofu and sesame sauce, they are super tasty as well.

Let me know if you try out this recipe. You can leave a comment below, or take a picture, tag it with #k33_kitchen and share it on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with. Cheers, hope you enjoy my recipes!