A quick and easy recipe for Yum Woon Sen, the popular spicy Thai noodle salad. Made with mung bean thread noodles and ground pork for a healthy and light lunch or dinner!
Thai cuisine is a favorite of mine, especially food from the Northern Thai region. I eat it at least once a week and the dish I adore the most is Yum Woon Sen.
I love this salad on so many levels. It’s light, refreshing, and has the typical Thai delicious flavors of sour, spicy, salty, and sweet all in one. It’s also healthy so, when I make it at home, I make enough so I can munch on it for a few days, cold and straight from the refrigerator.
I can’t get enough for it. Totally addicted, but in a good way.
What is Yum Woon Sen?
Yum Woon Sen is a spicy Thai noodle salad, made with mung bean thread noodles and lean pork. It can be served warm or at room temperature. Mung bean thread noodles are thin noodles that are also called cellophane or glass noodles. Look for them in your nearest Asian food market.
The pork can also be substituted with ground chicken or ground turkey, in case you don’t eat pork or are looking to make this dish even healthier.
Of course, this recipe is my version of Yum Woon Sen and the ingredient measurements are tailored to my preferences of sour/sweet/spicy/salty. Feel free to make adjustments to the recipe to suit your tastes (for example, add more fish sauce for salty, more lime juice and rice vinegar for sour, etc.)
Do you know what I noticed today? Most of my recent recipes have foods that are only tan, brown, or yellow in color. What’s up with that? Do I not eat the colors of the rainbow? I mean even this recipe only has a little green in it from the cilantro and green onion, but overall, it’s yellow.
For the next post, I need to cook something purple or red or blue to brighten up my site. Maybe I’ll just do a post on candy and put up photos of a big bowl of skittles. I know skittles are made of entirely bad for you stuff, like sugar and artificial flavoring and coloring, but darn it, they are pretty! Taste the rainbow…
If you like/love Thai food, try this recipe for Yum Woon Sen. It’s a wonderful dish to serve when you are looking for an easy, quick, and healthy lunch or dinner.
Yum Woon Sen
Ingredients
- 8 ounces mung bean thread noodles (also called glass or cellophane noodles)
- 2 tablespoons cocktail peanuts, chopped
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or Tamari soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce (look for one with only fish/anchovy and salt as the ingredients
- 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
- fresh squeezed juice of 1 large lime
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, unseasoned
- 1-2 tablespoons garlic chili sauce
- 4 green onions, finely minced
- 1/2 pound ground pork (can substitute ground chicken or ground turkey)
optional accompaniments: sliced cucumbers, ripe tomato wedges, and/or chopped lettuce
Instructions
- Place the noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak for at least 10 minutes, or until noodles have softened. Drain and use scissors to cut the noodles into 2 inch pieces. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, lightly dry toast the peanuts over medium heat. Remove, let cool, and roughly chop the peanuts. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, fish sauce, cilantro, lime juice, rice vinegar, garlic chili sauce, and green onions. Set aside.
- Using the same large skillet, lightly brown the ground meat over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until cooked throughout. Turn off the heat. Add the small bowl of sauce and the noodles to the cooked meat in the skillet. Mix well. Add the peanuts and adjust the seasonings, if desired.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with optional accompaniments: cucumber slices, tomato wedges, and/or chopped lettuce.
Recipe Notes & Tips:
- Refrigerate any leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator and use within 1-2 days.
Yellow Petunia says
Just made your recipe and it is so delicious! I can’t stop eating. My mouth is happy.
[email protected] says
Thank you so much. I’m so glad you liked the recipe
Dawn @ Words Of Deliciousness says
I have never tried Yum Woon Sen, but I think it sounds delicious. Great pictures!!
[email protected] says
Thanks so much Dawn and you should try it!
Gaila says
Karrie!! I love this noodles, they are my grandma’s favorite, she is half Chinese! and we grew up these, and they are great!
[email protected] says
That is so great Gaila! I would love to see your Grandma’s recipe. I bet she has some fantastic recipes
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
I love Asian noodle dishes like this one. They have such a wonderful balance of flavor. And you can eat a lot without the heavy feeling in your stomach. Great recipe, Karrie!
[email protected] says
Thanks so much Thao and you are absolutely right, you can eat a lot without having a loaded down feeling. Maybe that’s why I like them so much!
Cheyanne says
I have never had Yum Woon Sen… and I’m probably pronouncing it wrong in my head, but it sounds delicious! You sold me on giving it a try… gotta send boy to the store for some of the ingredients. Thanks for sharing girlie xx
[email protected] says
Thanks Chey and make sure you send Boy to more than one store, Lol!
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Mmm these noodles look so yummy! I can definitely see myself reaching for this in the fridge too – you’re totally right! I’ve never tried the mung bean noodles, but there are a lot of Asian markets nearby so I will have to try it out. Thank you for sharing the recipe XO
[email protected] says
Thanks Beeta. When I have these leftover noodles in the refrig, I find myself eating for them breakfast