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Rice Noodle Salad with Pineapple Dressing

A fresh salad of rice noodles, bell pepper, carrots, scallions, cilantro, mint, and Boston lettuce tossed with a pineapple‑based dressing.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 18 ingredients
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Why it works: Mint and lime match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 846 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Rice Noodle Salad with Pineapple Dressing

Time5 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the dressing

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

  2. In a blender or food processor, combine all dressing ingredients; process until well blended. Set the dressing aside. (Dressing can be made up to 4 days ahead and refrigerated.)

Make the noodle salad

  1. Put noodles into a large bowl. Pour boiling water over the noodles and stir to immerse and separate strands.

  2. Let the noodles soak for 5 minutes.

  3. Drain the noodles and rinse under cold water. Drain again, shaking the colander.

  4. Return the noodles to the bowl, drizzle with oil and toss to coat.

  5. Add bell pepper, carrots, scallions, 1/4 cup cilantro, and 1/4 cup mint to the noodles in the bowl. Add half of the reserved dressing and toss to coat.

Serve

  1. Line a platter or shallow serving bowl with lettuce leaves. Top the lettuce with the noodle salad.

  2. Sprinkle with the remaining cilantro and mint and garnish with lime.

  3. Serve, passing the remaining dressing separately.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

591Calories
10 gProtein
15 gFat
109 gCarbs

Counts 14 of 15 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 14 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Pineapple1 cup chunks (165g)82
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Red Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Lettuce1 cup shredded (36g)5
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Peppermintnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Mint + limetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together846 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Pepper + limetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,491 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Lettuce + limetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together408 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  4. Lime + pineappletop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together469 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Pepper + carrottop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,555 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Thin rice noodles
Provide the main body of the salad, with a soft, chewy texture once soaked and rinsed.
Pineapple juice
Adds sweetness and fruity moisture to the dressing, balancing the salty soy sauce.
Soy sauce
Supplies salty, savory depth that seasons the noodles and dressing.
Rice vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and cuts the richness of the oil.
Vegetable oil
Adds fat that coats the noodles, keeping the strands from sticking together.
Green curry paste
Provides aromatic spice and heat that flavors the dressing.

The step that matters

Rinsing and draining the noodles. Draining the noodles thoroughly after rinsing in cold water keeps excess water from diluting the dressing and stops the strands from clumping, so the dressing coats them evenly.

Swap the pineapple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, pepper, carrot, mint, lettuce, lime, sauce):

  1. Avocadofits better
  2. Lemonfits better
  3. Mangofits better
  4. Pineapplethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, pepper, carrot, mint, lettuce, lime, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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