I’ve always loved Thai food and regularly cook it at home. One of my favourite Thai recipes has to be this Thai glass noodle salad, or Yum Woon Sen, which I’ve been making for about 15 years now. Friends frequently ask me for the recipe, too!

The sweet chilli, the salty fish sauce, and the rich flavours from the steamed chicken, dried shrimp, and garlic all combine beautifully with the zing of lemon and fresh veggies, making this dish super appetising.

Sometimes I find myself craving for a dish like Vietnamese spring rolls but don’t have the time to prepare them. Guess what? This dish is basically made from the same ingredients and is much quicker and easier to whip up. So I often turn to this noodle salad instead.

The key here is how the chicken and the dressing are prepared. It’s the combination of umami from the chicken and the sweetness from the dressing that make this dish utterly addictive.

Do give it a go!

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @recipescometrue on Instagram and hashtag it #recipescometrue.

Thai Glass Noodle Salad (Yum Woon Sen)

This Thai Glass Noodle Salad (Yum Woon Sen) is a vibrant and refreshing dish featuring tender chicken, prawns, crisp vegetables, and glass noodles, all tossed in a sweet dressing made with fish sauce, sweet chilli, and lemon. It’s quick to prepare, making it an ideal meal or side dish for any occasion.

Servings 4 people

Total Time 30

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Ingredients

160 g glass noodles
16 prawns
2 chicken thighs (5 chicken tenderloins works just as well)
1/2 red onion
1 spring onion
1 celery stick (about 25cm)
1 cucumber (about 150g)
1 carrot (about 120g)
1/2 bean sprouts packet
15 g mint leaves (or to taste)
1 fresh red chilli
50 g coriander (or to taste)
1 lemon (or 2 lime)
20 g dried shrimp
1 garlic clove (about 10g)
2 tbsp sake
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
4 tbsp sugar

Instructions

Place the glass noodles in a pot, pour boiling water over them, and put on high heat.
Once the water boils, drain the noodles in a colander and set them aside.
Tip: If you leave the noodles as is, they may stick together, but don’t worry they’ll loosen up once you add the dressing later.
Open up the chicken thighs in a heatproof dish and cut a few slits in them to help them cook through.
Sprinkle over 2 tbsp of the sake and 1/2 tsp of the salt, then cover loosely with plastic wrap.
Microwave on 500W for 3 minutes, flip the chicken, and microwave for another 3 minutes.
If there’s any raw meat remaining, give it an additional 2 minutes, for a total of about 8 minutes.
Tip: If you use a higher wattage, the chicken can become tough, so stick with around 500W to cook it gently. This keeps it juicy!
Let the steamed chicken cool, then shred it with your hands along the grain. Keep the juices for the dressing.
Pat the prawns dry with kitchen paper, then heat 1 tbsp of salad oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
Cook the prawns for about 1 minute on each side.
Tip: Be careful not to overcook them, as high heat can make them tough and affect the flavour.
Wash all the veggies.
Thinly slice the red onion and soak it in water.
Do the same with the spring onion, slicing it diagonally and soak it in water.
Slice the celery diagonally, then cut it into thin strips.
Julienne the carrot.
For the cucumber, slice it diagonally, then stack the slices and julienne them.
Chop the coriander stalks for the dressing and place them in a bowl.
Roughly chop the leaves into 3cm pieces.
If the mint leaves are large, stack and roughly chop them.
Remove the seeds from the red chilli and slice it thinly.
In a small frying pan, dry-fry the dried shrimp for about 5 minutes until they take on a bit of colour.
Once cooked, chop them finely and add to the bowl for the dressing.
Mince the garlic and add it to the dressing bowl.
To the bowl with garlic, dried shrimp, and coriander stalks, add the sugar, fish sauce, sweet chilli sauce, lemon juice, and the chicken juices.
Mix everything well.
In a large bowl, toss the glass noodles with half of the dressing to loosen them up.
Drain the red onion and spring onion well, then add them to the bowl with the prepared veggies (celery, carrot, bean sprouts, cucumber, red onion, spring onion, coriander, mint, and red chilli), along with the chicken and prawns.
Mix everything together.
Pour over the remaining dressing and give it another good mix.
Let it sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes to let the flavours meld – that’s when it’s at its best!