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    Home > Vegan Salads

    Yum Woon Sen {Vegan} (Thai Glass Noodle Salad)

    By My Pure Plants on 06/20/2022 - May contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure.

    Jump to Recipe Print Pin

    This is a classic Yum Woon Sen recipe turned completely meatless. It is a cold Thai salad with thin glass noodles, tomatoes, onion, celery, chili pepper, cilantro, and dry roasted peanuts in a simple, fresh salad dressing. If you are looking for a sweet, spicy, and savory cold summer salad that is ready in 15 minutes, try this aromatic Thai noodle salad.

    Black plate on a red mate with thin glass noodles, sliced tomatoes, roasted peanuts, sliced onion, sliced chili peppers, chopped green herbs. Chopsticks are placed on the side.

    If you like Thai recipes, here are our favorite Thai oyster mushroom noodle stir fry and Thai red curry with tofu. Or try its stir fry cousin pad woon sen.

    Table of Contents hide
    1. What is Yum Woon Sen?
    2. Ingredients
    3. Instructions
    4. Variations
    5. FAQs and substitutions
    6. Allergen info
    7. More vegan Asian recipes
    8. Yum Woon Sen {Vegan} (Thai Glass Noodle Salad)

    What is Yum Woon Sen?

    The word “yum” in Thai means salad and “woon sen” means glass noodles. It is a cold salad dish that is a variation of the popular, quick stir-fried dish called pad woon sen. The classic yum woon sen is usually served with precooked seafood, most commonly shrimp, but in this vegan recipe, we made it extra light and refreshing with vegetable ingredients only.

    The salad dressing is sweet and salty but rich and aromatic at the same time. Most Thai sauces like to include ingredients to have all 4 flavors represented in a harmonic way. It is served with silky smooth glass noodles which are perfect to accompany the crunchy texture of the veggies.

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    Black plate on a red mate with thin glass noodles, sliced tomatoes, roasted peanuts, sliced onion, sliced chili peppers, chopped green herbs. A hand is holding chopsticks to start eating.

    Ingredients

    This Thai glass noodle salad is a perfect base recipe to which you can add your favorite vegetables and proteins. We picked 12 ingredients to make this spicy cold salad recipe.

    Ingredients of yum woon sen in small glass bowls like peanuts, glass noodles, sliced tomato, cilantro leaves, stems, sliced celery, soy sauce, sliced onion, sliced chilies, minced garlic, sugar and half of lime, glass noodles
    • Glass noodles -> It is also called cellphone noodles or mung bean vermicelli or even bean thread noodles. They are very thin, silky, and delicate. Similar to pad thai noodles which are made of rice. They are supposed to be gluten-free compared to many other types of noodles that are sadly not. Here is our article about which noodles are gluten-free.
    • Onion
    • Garlic
    • Chili peppers
    • Tomatoes
    • Chinese celery (like this one) or regular if you can’t find it
    • Roasted peanuts
    • Sugar -> any really, but if you need it to be vegan, please don’t use honey and choose from these honey substitutes
    • Soy sauce -> if you need to eat gluten-free, please choose one of these gluten-free soy sauce substitutes
    • Lime juice
    • Fresh cilantro leaves

    🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

    Instructions

    • Cook or soak glass noodles according to package instructions. Drain water when they are ready. Keep a bit of the cooking water.
    • Peel and slice onion thinly.
    • Peel and mince the garlic finely.
    • Wash and slice chili peppers.
    • If you have raw peanuts, dry roast them over medium heat in a frying pan without oil. It will take 1-2 minutes. Shake the pan or use a spatula to stir frequently.
    • Wash and thinly slice celery stalks similar to matchsticks (aka julienne style).
    • Wash and slice tomatoes. You can discard the seeds for a nicer finish.
    • Separate the cilantro leaves from the stems. Don’t discard the stems, you will add that to the salad as well.
    • In a small bowl, mix soy sauce (for gluten-free, use tamari), freshly squeezed lime juice, and sugar of your choice.

    Let’s mix the salad!

    1. Now take a large salad bowl and add first sliced onion, minced garlic, sliced tomato, julienned celery, cilantro leaves, and stems. Gently mix them.
    2. Add cooked glass noodles. Stir again.
    3. Add pre-mixed salad dressing and some pasta water to the salad and stir well.
    4. Add the dry-roasted peanuts and slices of chilies. Stir well. Ready to serve it!
    4 photo collage of a glass mixing bowl with peanuts, glass noodles, sliced tomato, cilantro leaves, stems, sliced celery, soy sauce, sliced onion, sliced chilies, minced garlic, sugar and half of lime, glass noodles.

    Variations

    What else can you add to this vegan yum woon sen recipe? Anything you fancy and anything that can be eaten raw. Here are some of our suggestions:

    • Carrots -> Cut them into matchsticks like in our sauteed julienned carrots recipe.
    • Cucumber -> Cut them also into thin matchsticks.
    • Bell peppers -> Slice them as thin as you can.
    • Purple cabbage -> We do love a crunchy shredded cabbage salad like coleslaw, but cabbage can be a great addition if you don’t go overboard.
    • Salad greens -> Any fresh green leaves can work here. Even mixed greens which usually include iceberg lettuce, spinach, and arugula. Cut them small to complement the size of the veggies in the salad.
    • Sprouts -> We love to add a handful of mung bean sprouts or any other ones we have at hand. They are delicious and unique additions to any cold salad recipe.
    • Edamame beans – If you love to add extra protein, try to add your favorite legumes.
    • Vegan ground pork – It does need a little bit of extra prep work, but we can’t recommend enough trying the vegan ground pork using TVP from our Vietnamese pizza recipe.
    Black plate on a red mate with thin glass noodles, sliced tomatoes, roasted peanuts, sliced onion, sliced chili peppers, chopped green herbs. A hand is holding chopsticks and lifting thin noodles up the air.

    FAQs and substitutions

    Is Yum Woon Sen gluten-free?

    • Glass noodles are typically made of mung beans or rice, which should be gluten-free. To be on the safe side and to avoid cross-contamination choose certified products. Read our article on which noodles are gluten-free.
    • Soy sauce is sadly not gluten-free, so you need to use tamari, liquid aminos, or other gluten-free substitutes.

    How to store it?

    It is hard to store any salad dishes and this Thai glass noodle salad is no exception. Since there are not many ingredients that can go bad quickly, you can store it in the fridge for up to 1-2 days in an airtight container.

    Black plate on a red mate with thin glass noodles, sliced tomatoes, roasted peanuts, sliced onion, sliced chili peppers, chopped green herbs. Chopsticks are placed on the side.

    Allergen info

    This Thai glass noodle salad recipe is meat-free, dairy-free, and egg-free.

    • Vegan – All ingredients are supposed to be vegan.
    • Nut-free – If you need this recipe to be nut-free, substitute roasted peanuts with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.
    • WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) – The only non-compliant ingredient is sugar. However, coconut sugar and date paste is allowed. If you use date paste please expect that you will taste the dates in the salad dressing.
    • Gluten-free – Always cook with certified products especially if you buy glass noodles. Read our article titled “are noodles gluten-free?” if you want to know more about the different noodle types. Soy sauce is also not gluten-free, so choose tamari or liquid aminos.
    • Soy-free – The only ingredient that contains soy is soy sauce (as well as tamari by the way). You should choose liquid aminos or coconut aminos if you want this yum woon sen recipe to be completely soy-free.

    More vegan Asian recipes

    • Black skillet from above full of glass noodles, shredded carrots, cabbage, sliced green onion, bean sprouts, mushroom shreds. A hand is holding chopsticks and digging in the middle
      Pad Woon Sen {Vegan} (Thai Glass Noodles Stir Fry)
    • White bowl with tofu cubes, broccoli florets, oyster mushroom shreds, red chili slices and long thin rice noodles.
      Thai Oyster Mushroom Noodle Stir Fry
    • Black plate with opaque rice paper topped with a yellow batter and sprinkled with brown crumbles and green spring onion rings. White and red sauces are drizzled on top.
      Vietnamese Rice Paper Pizza (Vegan)
    • Opaque rice paper rolls filled with carrots, purple sprouts, thin glass. noodles and brown mushrooms are served on a large black plate. Several rolls are cut half so you can see the filling. Red sauce in a small white bowl is served next to it.
      Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Vegan)
    • Black plate with crispy looking light brown egg rolls. A small white bowl is with a red dipping sauce. The rolls are sprinkled with parsley leaves.
      Rice Paper Egg Rolls (3 Ways)
    • Lots of round-shaped rice paper dumplings arranged in a semi-circular dish facing upwards sprinkled with sesame seeds, chopped spring onion and red hot pepper around a brown dipping sauce.
      Rice Paper Dumplings (Chinese Potstickers)

    THANK YOU so much for visiting our website. Please comment below if you have tried this recipe. We LOVE hearing from you! If you loved the recipe, please don’t forget to give us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ RATING. We appreciate all of our readers.  

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    Black plate on a red mate with thin glass noodles, sliced tomatoes, roasted peanuts, sliced onion, sliced chili peppers, chopped green herbs.

    Yum Woon Sen {Vegan} (Thai Glass Noodle Salad)

    My Pure Plants
    This is a classic Yum Woon Sen recipe turned completely meatless. It is a cold Thai salad with thin glass noodles, tomatoes, onion, celery, chili pepper, cilantro, and dry roasted peanuts in a simple, fresh salad dressing. If you are looking for a sweet, spicy, and savory cold summer salad that is ready in 15 minutes, try this aromatic Thai noodle salad.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Total Time 15 mins
    Course Main Course
    Servings 2 servings
    Calories 297kcal

    Equipment

    • Glass mixing bowl

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 2 oz Glass noodles -> which noodles are gluten-free
    • 1 Onion medium
    • 1 Tomatoes medium
    • 2 cloves Garlic
    • 1 Red chilies small
    • 2 Celery stalk
    • ¼ cup Dry roasted peanuts
    • 6-8 sprigs Cilantro
    • 3 Tbsp Soy sauce -> gluten-free soy sauce substitutes
    • 2 tsp Cane sugar
    • 4 Tbsp Lime juice
    • ¼ cup Reserved cooking water
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    EXCLUSIVE 5-ingredient recipes for busy home cooks that are ready in 15 minutes!Check out our Express Vegan Cookbook!

    Instructions
     

    Preparation

    • Cook or soak glass noodles according to package instructions. Drain water when they are ready. Keep a bit of the cooking water.
    • Peel and slice onion thinly.
    • Peel and mince the garlic finely.
    • Wash and slice chili peppers.
    • If you have raw peanuts, dry roast them over medium heat in a frying pan without oil. It will take 1-2 minutes. Shake the pan or use a spatula to stir frequently.
    • Wash and thinly slice celery stalks similar to matchsticks (aka julienne style).
    • Wash and slice tomatoes. You can discard the seeds for a nicer finish.
    • Separate the cilantro leaves from the stems. Don’t discard the stems, you will add that to the salad as well.

    Let’s mix the salad!

    • In a small bowl, mix soy sauce (for gluten-free, use tamari), freshly squeezed lime juice, and sugar of your choice.
    • Now take a large salad bowl and add first sliced onion, minced garlic, sliced tomato, julienned celery, cilantro leaves, and stems. Gently mix them.
    • Add cooked glass noodles. Stir again.
    • Add pre-mixed salad dressing and some pasta water to the salad and stir well.
    • Add the dry-roasted peanuts and slices of chilies. Stir well. Ready to serve it!
    Tried this recipe? Can we see it?Please share a picture with us by uploading an image to Pinterest below ours.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Yum Woon Sen {Vegan} (Thai Glass Noodle Salad)
    Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
    Calories 297 Calories from Fat 90
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 10g15%
    Saturated Fat 2g13%
    Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
    Monounsaturated Fat 5g
    Sodium 1604mg70%
    Potassium 570mg16%
    Carbohydrates 47g16%
    Fiber 4g17%
    Sugar 11g12%
    Protein 10g20%
    Vitamin A 1211IU24%
    Vitamin C 57mg69%
    Calcium 62mg6%
    Iron 2mg11%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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    Portrait of Emese and Nandi My Pure Plants

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