This noodle bowl is jam-packed with goodness! Pan seared salmon, garlicky kale, avocado… the list of greens goes on! Each bite is nutrient-rich and delicious!
One of the things I love most about recipe development is starting with an idea and seeing it grow into something new! The concept for this dish came from several inspirations. Last week when my parents were out visiting us, we grabbed a quick lunch at what I can best describe as the Asian version of Chipotle. You walk up to the counter and pick your starch, protein, veggies, sauce, and extra toppings. It’s a wonderful concept and I actually did a Build Your Own Bowl post with that very set-up in mind and it’s perfectly suited for parties.
In any event, when I ordered my bowl, I asked for vermicelli rice noodles, some fantastic garlicky kale, marinated tofu, green curry sauce, and peanuts. It was sensational! In fact, I have it on my docket to make at home and share in a post… stay tuned!
I really loved the combination of the rice noodles with the garlicky kale, so I used that as my base. I wanted to use salmon, so I started thinking of a salmon version of bun thit nuong, a popular Vietnamese dish, which literally means ‘grilled meat on noodles’ – a bowl of rice vermicelli, topped with delicious grilled pork, do chua (pickled carrots and daikon), fresh herbs, vegetables. Sounds amazing, right?! Well I combined that with the noodle bowl I just had with my parents… and let me just say, this is one fantastic dish!
I added perfectly cooked pan seared salmon – delicately crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. There’s nutrient-rich garlicky kale, creamy diced avocado, crispy cucumbers, crunchy peanuts, and then it’s all drizzled with a sweet lime dressing to tie it all together. It’s a filling noodle bowl packed with flavor!
- Bowl
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 (6 ounce) salmon fillets, skin on
- 4 ounces rice vermicelli noodles
- prepared sauteed kale with garlic recipe
- 1 Persian cucumber*, thinly sliced
- 1 scallion, green part only, thinly sliced
- a few sprigs of fresh mint, optional
- a few sprigs of fresh cilantro, optional
- a few sprigs of Thai basil*, optional
- 2 tablespoons dry roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
- Dressing
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add the grapeseed oil and the butter. Once the oil is hot and the butter have melted, add the fillets, skin side down - do not move them once they're down. Sear until cooked halfway up the sides. Then flip and sear the other side until the sides are fully cooked. Remove from heat.
- While the salmon is cooking, bring a large saucepan filled with water to a boil. Turn off the heat and add the noodles. Allow to soak for 5 minutes, until tender, then drain.
- When ready to serve, use a fork to flake the salmon into large pieces. Divided the garlic kale evenly among 2 bowls. Add the drained rice vermicelli noodles, cucumber slices, scallions, mint, Thai basil, cilantro, and avocado. Then add the salmon and top with the dry roasted peanuts. Serve with the dressing on the side (it's rich, so a little goes a long way). Enjoy!
* If you can't find Thai basil, feel free to use 'regular' Italian basil.
yesterday, i grabbed two octopus dishes from another blog that need to see immediate kitchen time. now, i will be adding an ahi tuna poke bowl, the above salmon bowl, and who knows how many bowls from your “build a bowl” post. i cannot tell you how difficult it is to not just to barrel my way through more posts, but last time i checked i only have one stomach and the length of a day is still 24 hours. restrictions, restrictions, restrictions… xoxoxoxo
Ah yes… if we only had the 8-chamber stomach of a cow 😉
This looks so beautiful and fresh!
OMG Kathleen, I am a big vermicelli bowl lover, it’s like the one dish that I keep ordering when visiting Vietnamese restaurants LOL, and this recipes sounds so lovely! I am so going to make this, maybe need to use other fish since I don’t have that at home, or maybe just save this until I do my grocery next time 🙂
Lol! I always steal half the noodles after I cook them before they even go into the dish 😉 I’d love to know what kind of fish you end up using! Hope you have a great weekend!
OMG Kathleen, this bowl looks fantastic and am sure taste delicious! I am going to read build your own bowl and can not wait for the recipe that you saved the shop docket 😀 Pinned!
I love vermicelli noodle bowls, and those toppings you used are just perfection!
Kathleen, love how stunning and bright this noodle bowl looks. And so packed of yummy goodness! Love that you added so many greens! Absolutely delicious!
My mouth is watering right now! That looks so delicious! I love the whole process of recipe development, too. It’s so nice sometimes when you have an idea in mind, but then as you work along in may turn into something else, or even something better than originally thought (and sometimes for me, it’ll be a disaster, but it’s all learning, right?). Wishing I had some of this for lunch right about now. Have a lovely weekend 🙂
Kathleen, I LOVE this!!!! I love vermicelli noodles! I’m all about fresh and light and I love the flavors here! going to check out your Build Your Own Bowl post!!!
Love the idea of build your own bowl! We have the Thai Chipotle around here – called Shophouse. But they don’t offer anything close to this dish! Looks amazing! Love the sauteed kale!
There are two things I love more than life itself: salmon and rice vermicelli noodles. lol! Seriously, I do love those two foods a lot and I really like the pairing of the kale. I eat salmon on top of roasted kale once a week so next time, I’m adding the noodles and other recipe ingredients. Bet it will be fifty million times better tasting 😉
Kathleen, gurl… you never fail to make me miss the Bay and HUNGRY!! Alright, I’m not gonna lie, I’m hangry. I am feeling all of the Vietnamese love here, m’kay? Gotta call my mom up now and ask her to make some do chua for me. 😉 In the mean time, I’m just gonna look at your photos, then sit, stare, drool and repeat. I’m already a big fan of your Build Your Own Bowl, so this one curated by you is fantastic. Pinning, my dear! xo
I am a sucker for anything in a bowl, and I love build your own bowl type restaurants. This vermicelli noodle bowl is gorgeous, Kathleen! Not to mention is looks beyond delicious! Perfectly pan seared salmon and garlicky kale? SOLD! Cheers, friend! <3