Cold Rice Noodle Salad, Lime–Tsuyu Dressing

_Proven, East Asian, Summer Dishes

Ingredients

For the marinade:

1 lime, juiced

1 tsp kombu tsuyu concentrate

2 tsp water

1 tsp mirin

1 tsp sriracha


For the dressing:

½ lime, juiced

3 tsp kombu tsuyu concentrate

2 tbsp water

1½ tsp soy sauce

5 tsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp mirin

2 tsp sriracha

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp grapeseed oil

3 tsp peanut butter

2 tsp sesame paste (half toasted, half white)

½ lime, juiced — to finish

1 tsp agave syrup


For the noodles:

200 g medium-thick rice noodles, dry

1 tsp toasted sesame oil


For the protein:

200 g Planted vegan chicken pieces

1 tbsp grapeseed oil, for searing


For the vegetables:

1 medium cucumber

1 medium carrot

1 small zucchini


To garnish:

40 g peanuts, cashews or almonds

Directions

Marinate the protein:
Whisk the marinade tsuyu with the water, mirin, sriracha and the juice of 1 lime. Pat the Planted pieces dry, toss to coat, and leave to sit while you work.

Toast the nuts:
Dry-toast the nuts in a pan over medium heat until fragrant and lightly coloured, shaking often. Tip onto a plate to cool.

Cook and cool the noodles:
Cook the rice noodles per package directions, then drain and rinse under cold running water until it runs clear and the noodles are properly cold. Drain hard, then toss with 1 tsp toasted sesame oil so they don't clump.

Make the dressing base:
Whisk together the dressing tsuyu, water, soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, sriracha, toasted sesame oil, grapeseed oil and the juice of ½ lime.

Emulsify the nut butters:
Put the peanut butter and sesame paste in a separate small bowl — stir the sesame paste jar first if it has separated. Whisk the dressing base in one spoonful at a time. It will look thick and broken at first, then suddenly loosen. Once smooth, stir it back into the rest. Adding cold acidic dressing all at once makes nut butter seize into lumps.

Correct the balance:
Fat mutes acidity, so the dressing tastes flatter once the nut butters are in. Add the juice of the remaining ½ lime and the agave syrup, then taste. Still too round? A teaspoon more rice vinegar sharpens it without adding sweetness.

Prepare the vegetables:
Julienne the cucumber and carrot into thin matchsticks. Shave the zucchini into ribbons with a peeler, or julienne it too — raw is right here, no cooking needed.

Sear the protein:
Heat 1 tbsp grapeseed oil in a wide pan over high heat. Pat the marinated Planted pieces dry, add in a single uncrowded layer and leave alone until the edges brown properly — crowding steams them. Off the heat, toss with a spoonful of the dressing to glaze, then let cool to room temperature.

Toss and rest:
Combine noodles, vegetables and the dressing in a large bowl, holding back about 2 tbsp of dressing. Toss with tongs or your hands until every strand is coated. Rest in the fridge so the flavours settle.

Assemble:
Loosen the bowl with the reserved dressing. Lay the cooled Planted pieces over the top rather than tossing them through — fridge-cold pea protein goes firm, and warm-ish protein over cold noodles is the better contrast. Crush the toasted nuts and scatter over.

Notes

Sharp, bright rice noodle salad with a lightly nutty lime–tsuyu dressing and seared Planted pieces. As actually cooked and tested.

Limes:
Total two. One to the marinade, one split across the two dressing stages. The rice vinegar sits at 5 tsp because the dressing wants more acid than a single lime provides.

Tsuyu math:
Assumes a 3x concentrate (1 part tsuyu : 2 parts water). The amounts above are already reduced and paired with their own water — don't dilute twice. If yours is 2x, use half again as much concentrate and cut the dressing water to 1 tbsp.

Sweetness is the balance point to watch:
Agave, mirin and the sugar already in the tsuyu stack up fast. If it reads candied, correct with rice vinegar or salt — never more soy, which pushes salty and sweet at once.

Hold back dressing:
The dressing thickens as it stands and rice noodles drink it fast. Hold back roughly 2 tbsp before tossing so you can loosen the bowl after the fridge rest; a splash of dashi also works without diluting flavour.

Pre-marinated Planted pieces:
Skip the marinade step and just sear — they're already salted. Taste before adding soy anywhere; peanut butter is usually salted too.

Label check:
"Kombu tsuyu no moto" often still contains katsuobushi.

Variations:
Tomato works if seeded, diced and added at the last moment. Eggplant doesn't belong raw — char it separately and lay it on top. A pinch of sumac or dried mint over the finished bowl works better than you'd expect. Garlic, ginger and fresh cilantro/mint/scallion all belong if you have them.