This delicious Thai inspired Prawn Noodle Salad is fresh, crunchy and full of flavour. And it only takes 15 minutes to pull together! If you’re a fan of Thai food, you should try this salad for sure.
If you have a toddler, weaning baby or fussy eater and are wondering how to adapt this Asian Prawn Noodle Salad for your family, see here >
The Stars of my Thai prawn noodle salad Prawn Noodle Salad
The Noodles
It is more authentic to use rice noodles, but personally I prefer the flavour of egg noodles and so I use those instead. I use wholewheat, medium egg noodles over regular egg noodles as they are more nutritious, and they bring a slightly nutty and earthy flavour to the salad. You can of course use regular egg noodles if you can’t find the wholewheat version. If you prefer to make it with rice noodles, you go for it.
Prawns / Shrimp
I use cooked frozen prawns (shrimp) as they will be fresher and usually cheaper than the chilled prawns. Just start defrosting them in the fridge about 24 hours before you are ready to make the salad, and then eat it within 24 hours.
I wouldn’t recommend using king prawns for this salad, you want little bites of prawn and to not have to cut larger ones in half to eat.
Carrot
To make this salad lovely and crunchy, we are adding plenty of carrot. You can grate it with a cheese grater or, if you have a mandolin, you can use the julienne blade to grate the carrot into matchsticks like you see here.
Edamame
You’ll want to buy a pack of edamame beans NOT in their pods. If you want to use frozen edamame in pods, you’ll need to defrost them in the fridge overnight and then pop the beans out which add to the prep time considerably.
Peanuts
You’ll need to buy unsalted, roasted peanuts. If you are sharing this salad with a toddler, you will need to crush them before you add them, see here for instructions >
The Dressing
To make the perfect dressing for your Asian Prawn Noodle Salad, you’ll need fish sauce (don’t be put off by how strong it smells, it won’t be overwhelming in the salad!), lime juice, toasted sesame oil, a little honey (or agave) and groundnut oil or another flavourless oil like vegetable or sunflower.
Everything Else…
You’ll also need 3 spring onions which you’ll slice and 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh coriander as well.
FAQ’s For My Thai Prawn Noodle Salad
Can I prepare this Thai Prawn Noodle Salad in advance?
You can prepare everything earlier that day or the day before, but don’t add the dressing or prawns until ready to serve. Anything you do prepare in advance, keep in the fridge until ready to use.
Can I feed more people with this recipe?
This recipe already feeds 4-5 adults, but if you wanted to feed more people I would recommend making two salads alongside each other instead of one giant one, as it would be very hard to toss!
Can I leave out the peanuts?
For me, the peanuts complete this salad, but if you have someone in the family who doesn’t like peanuts I would recommend adding them to the table in a bowl instead of mixing them in. Then, those who want them can add them onto their serving. If someone has a peanut allergy, then by all means, make it without.
How can younger children help make it?
You could have them help you add everything into the salad bowl. If you make the dressing in a jar they will love to shake it up for you!
Can I Store Asian Prawn Noodle Salad leftovers?
Because of the prawns (shrimp), you should eat the salad the same day you made it. Prawns (shrimp) are highly perishable and should be eaten within 24 hours of opening the packet if fresh, or within 24 hours of defrosting frozen ones.
More on safe food storage and reheating.
What diets is this recipe suitable for?
My Thai Prawn Noodle Salad is suitable for diary-free diets. It is NOT suitable for those with a peanut allergy or for gluten, egg-free, vegetarian or vegan diets.
Adapting My Thai Prawn Noodle Salad For Your Family
Eating together is beneficial for families of all ages and stages, for a multitude of reasons; nutritional, behavioural, psychological and for healthy family functioning. This section will show you how to tweak this Thai Prawn Noodle Salad recipe for sharing with a weaning baby, toddler or a fussy eater, which will help make it easier to eat together as a family.
Keeping Fussy Eaters Happy
If you have a picky eater who is funny with salad dressing or new flavours, you might want to serve their noodle salad without dressing. If so, dish them up some before you add the dressing. You could always leave a little dressing in a bowl for them to add themselves if they want.
Making My Thai Prawn Noodle Salad Suitable for Baby Weaning
6-12 months
If you want to share this salad with a weaning baby under 12 months old, leave the dressing off theirs as it has a little honey in (just 2 teaspoons), or use agave nectar instead. You’ll also need to leave off the peanuts and the spring onions. You can remove their portion before adding the dressing, spring onions and the peanuts. You’ll also need to finely chop their prawns (shrimp) and mash their edamame beans with a fork.
Toddlers
Before you add them to the salad, crush the peanuts up well in a resealable food bag using a mallet or rolling pin, until no choke-able pieces are left. Otherwise, dish up their serving before adding the peanuts. Lightly smash down their edamame beans so they split in half. Cut their prawns (shrimp) into bite-size pieces.
I’ve also added these notes to the bottom of the recipe so you have them to hand when you come to cook.
You Might Like…
Together to Eat is reader-supported. I may earn a small commission from anything bought through links found here.
Thai Prawn Noodle Salad
Ingredients
- 4 medium wholewheat egg noodle nests (250g) / chow mein noodles (US), see note 1
- ½ tablespoon groundnut, vegetable or sunflower oil
- 300 g peeled & cooked prawns / shrimp, I use frozen, defrosted
- 300 g carrots, peeled and grated, see note 2
- 150 g edamame beans, not in pods
- 3 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander
- 80 g unsalted & roasted peanuts
FOR THE DRESSING
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons groundnut, vegetable or sunflower oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons honey or agave nectar
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Cook your noodles as per packet instructions, drain and run under cold water. Add the noodles to a large salad or mixing bowl. Add in the ½ tablespoon of oil and toss well so the noodles don’t stick together. If making the noodles earlier on, cover and store in fridge until ready to use.
- Combine all your dressing ingredients in a small bowl and stir well with a mini wire hand whisk until well combined.
- Add all you salad components into a large mixing bowl, toss well and serve.
Notes
Baby & Toddler
FUSSY EATERS
STORAGE
Nutrition
Comments
No Comments