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Cold Rice Noodles With Coconut Milk, Peanuts and Lime
![Cold Rice Noodles With Coconut Milk, Peanuts and Lime](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/08/22/dining/as-cold-rice-noodles/merlin_156441138_31323eed-3b53-4c4e-ab4d-c945f5bc3fd6-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 8ounces linguine-style rice noodles
- 1cup full-fat coconut milk, plus more as needed
- ½cup finely chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
- 2Thai chiles, thinly sliced into rounds, or 1 jalapeño, minced
- 2teaspoons fish sauce or soy sauce, plus more as needed
- 2limes
- ¾cup coarsely chopped roasted, salted peanuts
- Red chile sauce, like sambal or sriracha, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Cook noodles in a large saucepan of boiling water according to package instructions until tender but still chewy. (They’ll firm up when cool, so you want to cook them to softer than al dente). Drain the noodles in a colander, fill the saucepan with cold water, swish the noodles in the cold water, then drain again.
- Step 2
In the empty pot, stir together the coconut milk, cilantro, chiles and fish sauce. Zest the limes over the pot, then halve one of the limes and squeeze its juice directly into the pot. Cut the remaining lime into 4 wedges.
- Step 3
Toss the noodles in the coconut milk mixture. Taste and adjust seasonings. (The flavor should be coconut-y, lightly sweet and savory. If you can’t taste the coconut, add more milk; if the mixture is too sweet, add more fish sauce.) Serve in bowls with peanuts scattered over top and lime wedges and chile sauce alongside. Spoon any collected coconut milk at the bottom of the pan over the noodles.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
This is similar to a Vietnamese dish called “banh tam” with thick rice vermicelli. To prevent the noodles from sticking, drain and rinse out the cooked noodles to wash away the starch. After rinsing, shake off the excess water and put the noodle in a microwave dish and microwave for 2 minutes or so to evaporate any remaining water and to reheat the noodles.
This was quick and delicious! I threw in some grated carrots and finely chopped radishes, then garnished it with chopped green onions and sprouts, in addition to peanuts and sriracha. Would be great with grilled tofu, shrimp, or chicken.
I recommend serving it with poached shrimp. Put about 6 cups of water, green onions whole, ginger, and salt in a pot. Bring it to a boil and cook the shrimp for 2 minutes. If you can save the cooking liquid and use it to cook your noodles. I really recommend using shrimp with the shell still on. So much more flavor. I added more fish sauce to the coco out milk than it called for and I think it made it tastier. I also chopped some green onion on top crashed I had it on hand.
The recipe is good, although 8 ounces of dried rice noodles is barely enough for one person, nevermind four. Thankfully I had some zucchinis so I quickly made noodles out of them. I also added a little tofu that I roasted in peanut oil. The sauce was a bit watery, so next time I might just use the cream top from the coconut milk, but overall a nice, fresh weeknight meal.
I added a quick pickle of julienned carrot, cucumber and zucchini, cubes of roasted tofu brushed with sesame oil, and some mint leaves. Taste as you go -- my dressing was bland with the base ingredients, so I kept upping the fish sauce and hot sauce until it hit the notes I wanted.
My family liked this. I added quartered slices of cucumber and used jalapeño instead of Thai chiles. Served cold.
Really easy. Cooked as directed but added TJ's chili crisp, black garlic, black vinegar, scallions, cucumber, mint, radishes and a leftover pork chop. Would definitely make again.
The flavors were okay, but something about the softness of the noodles plus the richness of the coconut milk and the excessive amount of sauce made for an unpleasant “goopy,” somewhat slimy mouthfeel. The peanuts helped with the texture (and I do think adding in a lot of raw crunchy vegetables would also help), but as is, it wasn’t the most appetizing experience.
I first tried this as-is and loved it. The coconut milk, lime & fish oil are a delicious flavor combination. Since the first try, I’ve made it with grated carrot, thin cabbage and pan-fried tofu to make it more of a meal & less of a side. It’s in the weekly rotation
I view this as a good "base" recipe. It was a decent start - but felt like it was lacking. Specifically I really wanted something with umami while eating it. You can "jazz" it up by adding some black garlic, a splash of Worcestershire sauce, an egg, etc. Even then it was a bit underwhelming, but a very easy, light meal to make.
Really nice simple/fast recipe! Ready in about 20 minutes. I just doubled the recipe since I didn’t want to deal with leftover packages of noodles and coconut milk. May add some more vegetables next time.
those in the picture are more fettucine (flat ribbon) than linguine (oval in cross section). l have never seen rice linguine
I clearly did something wrong. I know I forgot to rinse the noodles in cold water. I don't mind some stuck together noodles. However, I do not like something that needed a lot more flavor enhancement than provided in the recipe. Move of everything and it never really reached anything that would encourage me to make this recipe again. I will look for something a little more interesting, but of the same sort.
As is, the sauce is really flat. Added 4” grated ginger, some tamarind paste (game changer), 3 sliced scallions, 4 minced kaffir lime leaves (only had 1 lime), red pepper flakes, some soy sauce, maple syrup, and a bunch of slivered sugar snap peas for protein. Great lunch noodles after that!
To be fair, it was easy and fast. That said, it was also kind of bland and flat even after I added some shredded carrots/green onions for texture, crunch, and volume (because the proportions of coconut milk to noodles made it too soupy). Would definitely add something grilled or fried in the future.
First time cooking this - I doubled the cilantro, added tomatoes and fresh summer corn. Still seemed like the noodle to "stuff" ratio was low, but overall the recipe was very tasty and a good vehicle for fresh produce. Will definitely make again!
This was on my list to try but started wondering how flavorful it would be. Don’t hesitate! It has powerful flavors and is addictive! No need to add anything. Great recipe!
Leave the starch! It helps the noodle hold onto the sauce! Do not drain. Remove the noodle from the water and put directly into the sauce. I know this because Tyler Durden knows this.
I added a quick pickle of julienned carrot, cucumber and zucchini, cubes of roasted tofu brushed with sesame oil, and some mint leaves. Taste as you go -- my dressing was bland with the base ingredients, so I kept upping the fish sauce and hot sauce until it hit the notes I wanted.
I agree with Emily, who said it was watery and kind of tasteless. I must stop trying these fusion recipes.
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