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Lime turmeric rice noodles salad with asparagus

This dish oozes Spring, without being too light, and hence, unsatisfying. This is one of the common mistakes of ‘spring’ recipes; they are too delicate, too sparse. In this salad, the noodles are not passive - they are tasked with being a carrier of big flavour. The addition of ground turmeric to the cooking water imbues them with smokiness and a luminous sunny tint.

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A bowl of yellow noodles mixed with sliced tofu, asparagus, and fresh cilantro, with chopsticks resting on the edge.

The dressing is sweet, tangy, salty. It is designed to be bright and vivacious – up the lime if you want more pizzazz. The asparagus is seared until it becomes sweet and juicy, but it should retain a slight crispness. Its buttery nuttiness pairs really well with the earthy, smoky turmeric-laced noodles.

One lime is fine but I’ve given you the option to use two for ‘squeezing over’ just in case you want it more citrusy. Feel free to prep ahead and ‘freshen’ it up with a drizzle of olive oil to loosen up the noodles (rice noodles tend to stick and clump when left to sit).

Lime turmeric rice noodles salad with asparagus

Serves

Ingredients

350 g thick rice noodles
3 teaspoons ground turmeric
450 g asparagus 1 bunch, woody ends removed and cut into 5cm (2-inch) pieces
extra virgin olive oil
225 g baked tofu pre-baked tofu like this, sliced
2 scallions thinly sliced
big handful of Asian herbs such as coriander cilantro, Thai basil, Vietnamese mint (rau răm), roughly chopped
1 - 2 limes halved
50 g toasted almonds or peanuts roughly chopped

Lime-maple dressing

1 lime juiced (2-3 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons maple syrup or brown sugar
2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 clove garlic finely grated
1/2 - 1 red or green chili pepper, sliced (to your liking)
sea salt and black pepper

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the rice noodles and turmeric and cook according to packet instructions until the noodles are al dente. Drain and run under cold water, tossing to cool them down. Drain again.
Meanwhile to make the dressing, place the lime juice, maple syrup, tamari or soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and chilli (pepper) into a bowl and whisk to combine. Season with sea salt and black pepper. The dressing should be tangy sweet, salty, and spicy.
Heat a large fry pan (skillet) on medium high heat. When hot, add a drizzle of olive oil along with the asparagus. Season with salt and pepper and cook, tossing often, until the asparagus are crisp-tender, bright green and slightly charred, 3-4 minutes.
Place the noodles into a large bowl and add the tofu, asparagus and the dressing. Toss to combine. Add most of the herbs (keeping some aside for topping) and toss. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
To serve, top with remaining herbs and the nuts, and drizzle generously with lime.