Thai Glass Noodle Salad with Shrimp (ยำวุ้นเส้น)

This easy Thai glass noodle salad with shrimp is a popular Thai salad using glass noodles, fresh herbs, shrimp, and a simple salad dressing made with fish sauce and lime juice. This easy version of Yum Woon Sen is perfect for those wanting healthier Thai food. Quick and easy to put together and ready to serve in 20 minutes!

For more noodles recipes, try the Pad Mee recipe for Thai rice noodles, a nice and light recipe with minimal ingredients. For something more spicy and sweet, try Pad Mee Korat. Both delicious and easy to make.

Yum Woon Sen is one of the most refreshing salads in Thai cuisine. The tasty lime dressing mixed with fish sauce and some sugar makes the perfect balance of flavors for the mung bean noodles. You can make it spicy by adding chili flakes or mild.

Jump to:

• Why this recipe works
• What are glass noodles?
• Ingredient List for Yum Woon Sen
• How to make glass noodle salad?
• Kitchen Notes and Helpful Tips
• FAQS 
• More Thai Recipes You'll Love
• Thai Glass Noodle Salad with Shrimp (Yum Woon Sen)

Why this recipe works

• It's healthy and refreshing! It's my staple dish when I want to be on track for healthy eating.
• You can easily substitute other vegetables. Choose crunchy vegetables to add textures to the salad.
• It can be used as a meal prep salad, and it’s still good the next day. You can separate the sauces by making them ahead of time. Separate herbs from meat and sauce, then throw everything together before eating. This is how you’d order your salad with dressing on the side. 
• Glass noodles are easy to find at most mainstream grocery stores.
• It's the perfect salad for a potluck because it's easy to make and double or triple the amounts needed for your parties.
• All the ingredients can also be found at local grocery stores. No running to two or more stores. (:

What are glass noodles?

Glass noodles or Woon Sen are clear noodles made from mung bean starch, pea flour, or potato starch or giving which a very light and low in calories noodles. Glass noodles are used in many Thai dishes like Pad Woon Sen (stir fry glass noodles), Yum Woon Sen Talay, (seafood salad) or Thai clear noodles soups. Light yet tasty noodles can take on many flavors, making them popular in many dishes.

Ingredient List for Yum Woon Sen

• Raw shrimp. Fresh shrimp is excellent for the
• Glass noodles. The main ingredient for the recipe. They are also called cellophane noodles, bean thread noodles, mung bean noodles, mung bean threads, or clear glass noodles.
• Mint leaves. Add the refreshing and best flavor to the salad.
• Fish sauce. I used the 3 Crab brand for this recipe. It's light and sweeter than the other Thai brands. Use whatever brand you have, but go light and add more at the end if necessary.
• Fresh lime juice. You can use lemon juice, but lime juice has the extra punch the salad needs.
• Shallot. Use sweet or red onion as a substitute.
• Sugar. White, brown, coconut, monk fruit, or palm sugar works.
• Cherry tomatoes. Chopped in half. Other tomatoes are fine, too. Chop them into small bite-size pieces.
• Parley. Adds a refreshing and fresh herb flavor
• Celery. Use both the stems and the leafy parts.
• Cilantro. Use the stems and the leafy part for both texture and fragrance.
• Green onion. Also called spring onion

Optional ingredients to add to the salad

• Dried shrimp. Soak in warm water for 5 minutes to hydrate the shrimp before adding it to the salad.
• Toasted rice powder Khao Khua. Make your own or find them at your local Asian grocery store. It adds a lot of flavor and texture to the salad.
• Minced pork. Cook until done and add to the salad for the extra protein.
• Minced lemongrass. Adds an aromatic citrus crunch to the salad. Make sure they are sliced into very small pieces before use.
• Lightly crushed peanuts.
• Minced Thai red chili. For extra heat!
• White sugar can ease the salty and sour flavor if you use too much of each.

Great fresh vegetables to use are

• Bell peppers
• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Shredded carrots
• Chinese celery
• Jalapenos 
• Bean sprouts

How to make glass noodle salad?

Step 1. Bring 3-4 cups of water to a boil in a large pot to cook the shrimp. Add the raw shrimp and cook for 2 minutes or until the shrimp turn a light salmon color. Remove with a strainer, rinse in cold water, and set aside on a plate until ready.

Step 2. Next, use the hot shrimp water to soak the glass noodles in a large bowl. Soak for 4-5 minutes or until the noodles soften. The shrimp stock gives this recipe that little extra flavor! Once the noodles are soft, use a strainer to scoop out the noodles, then rinse in cool water for a minute and set aside while you prep the other ingredients. 

Step 3. Make the dressing by combining the fish sauce, lime juice, and chili flakes in a large mixing bowl and mixing well.

Step 4. Add all the chopped fresh ingredients to the bowl. Stir those ingredients together.

Step 5. Add the shrimp to the salad mixture, and mix well.

Step 6. Lastly, add the glass noodles to the salad. Use your clean fingers to massage the ingredients together.

Step 7. Add chili flakes and any of the suggested ingredients. Adjust with more fish sauce, lime juice, and fresh and ground chilis as needed.

Step 8. Let the salad sit to marinade for 3-5 minutes while you clean up and set the plate for serving. Serve this delicious and easy Thai glass noodle salad cold. Garnish with peanuts, a dash of sugar, and or chilis. ENJOY your Yum Woon Sen. Make sure to share some. It's addicting!

Kitchen Notes and Helpful Tips

• You can substitute protein, too, be sure to cook until the meat is thoroughly cooked. Use minced meat like ground pork, chicken, beef, or turkey.
• Use hot water. Either boil a pot of hot water or microwave a bowl of water for 2-3 minutes until the water is hot.
• Mini stock. Boil/poach the shrimp first, then use the same water for cooking the noodles. Turn the heat off and pour water over the glass noodles. There you have a mini shrimp stock for extra flavor! It just adds that little something extra. 
• When mixing the salad, lightly massage the ingredients just a bit to help soften the vegetables and let the sauces soak in quicker. Kitchen gloves are handy for this part.
• Shrimp. Use fresh or frozen shrimp for this recipe. Aim for larger pieces of shrimp, if possible, for this dish. They add a very nice meatiness to the salad.
• You can also use pre-cooked cocktail shrimp for an even quicker salad!
• Noodles tip. Loosely cut the noodles into 4-6 inch pieces with kitchen scissors before mixing them with the rest of the ingredients. The shorter pieces are easier to blend with the herbs in a bow. They are also easier to eat when the pieces are not too long. 

FAQS 

More Thai Recipes You'll Love

• Pad Woon Sen noodle stir fry recipe
• Bacon-wrapped grilled Enoki mushrooms
• Thai noodle salad with turkey or rotisserie chicken
• toasted rice powder Khoa Khua
• Sweet hot chili sauce
• Pad Mee rice vermicelli recipes
• Eggplants with Thai basil 
• How to make Thai sticky rice

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