Yam Woon Sen is a Thai glass noodle salad with shrimp and ground pork, tossed in a sharp lime-and-fish-sauce dressing with fresh vegetables and crushed peanuts. The whole thing takes 25 minutes and uses one saucepan. If you want something light but filling on a weeknight without turning on the oven, this is a reliable choice.
Before you start
The two things that actually matter here are the noodle soak and the dressing paste. Glass noodles go from underdone to mushy fast — 10 minutes in warm (not boiling) water is enough; they’ll finish softening when you toss them with the hot dressing. Pull them out while they still feel slightly firm. For the dressing, grinding the garlic, chili, and palm sugar together in a mortar and pestle before adding the liquids is not optional busywork — it breaks down the sugar and releases the garlic’s sharpness in a way that just stirring everything together won’t replicate. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, a small blender or even the flat of a knife on a cutting board works, but get the solids into a rough paste before you add the fish sauce and lime juice.
Common problems and fixes
- Noodles clump into a solid mass: This happens when drained noodles sit too long before being dressed. Toss them into the bowl immediately after draining, or rinse briefly with cool water to keep them separate.
- Dressing tastes flat or one-dimensional: Palm sugar varies in sweetness depending on the brand. Taste the dressing before pouring — if it tastes harsh, add a small pinch more sugar. If it tastes dull, a few more drops of lime juice will sharpen it up.
- Shrimp turns rubbery: Shrimp cooks in 2–3 minutes in simmering water. Pull each piece the moment it curls into a C-shape and turns opaque. Leaving it in the hot water even a minute too long makes it tough.
- Salad is watery by the time you serve it: Tomatoes and cucumber release liquid once they hit the dressing. Dress and toss the salad right before eating, not 20 minutes ahead.
- Heat level is unpredictable: Bird’s eye chilies vary significantly in heat. If you’re unsure, start with half a chili, taste the paste, and add more from there. You can always add heat; you can’t take it out.
Storage and reheating
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. The noodles will absorb most of the dressing overnight, so the salad will taste drier the next day — a splash of lime juice and a few drops of fish sauce stirred in before eating fixes that quickly. This dish does not freeze well; the noodles turn grainy and the vegetables go limp. Eat it cold straight from the fridge rather than reheating it — warming it up softens the cucumber and tomatoes past the point of being pleasant. Skip reheating entirely and just refresh the dressing instead.
Yam Woon Sen
Equipment
- Large bowl
- Medium saucepan
- Strainer
- Mortar and pestle or small blender
Ingredients
Glass Noodles
- 5 oz glass noodles soaked in warm water for 10 minutes
Pork and Shrimp
- ½ lb ground pork fresh
- 8 oz shrimp peeled and deveined
Vegetables
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup cucumber thinly sliced
Dressing
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp lime juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tbsp palm sugar grated
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 piece bird's eye chili finely chopped
Garnish
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- ¼ cup roasted peanuts crushed
Instructions
- Soak glass noodles in warm water for about 10 minutes, then drain and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add ground pork and cook until no longer pink. Remove and set aside.
- In the same saucepan, cook shrimp until just pink and opaque. Remove and set aside with the pork.
- In a mortar and pestle, blend garlic, bird's eye chili, along with palm sugar until a paste forms. Stir in fish sauce and lime juice until well mixed.
- In a large bowl, combine noodles, cooked pork and shrimp, tomatoes, and cucumber. Pour the dressing over and gently toss to combine.
- Garnish with cilantro and roasted peanuts before serving.
Notes
- For a vegetarian version, substitute tofu for shrimp and pork and use soy sauce instead of fish sauce.
- Adjust the amount of chili according to your spice preference.
Nutrition
Your questions, answered
Where do I find glass noodles and palm sugar?
Both are in the Asian foods aisle of most large grocery stores, or at any Asian market. Glass noodles are sometimes labeled cellophane noodles or bean thread noodles — they’re the same thing; look for packages made from mung bean starch.
Can I use regular sugar instead of palm sugar?
Yes, light brown sugar is the closest substitute and works fine in the same quantity. White granulated sugar will also work but gives the dressing a slightly sharper sweetness rather than the mild, rounded flavor palm sugar provides.
Do I have to cook the pork and shrimp separately?
Yes — they have different cook times and you don’t want to overcook the shrimp while waiting for the pork to finish. Cook the pork first since it takes longer, remove it, then cook the shrimp in the same water.
Can I prep any of this ahead of time?
You can make the dressing paste and cook the proteins up to a day in advance and keep them refrigerated. Hold off on soaking the noodles and assembling until right before you eat so the vegetables stay crisp and the noodles don’t clump.
Is fish sauce something I can skip if I don’t have it?
No — fish sauce is the backbone of the dressing and skipping it entirely will make the salad taste flat. Soy sauce is a workable substitute if you need one; use the same amount and add a small squeeze of extra lime to compensate for the missing brightness.
How spicy is one bird’s eye chili?
Noticeably hot — more than a jalapeño. If you’re not used to spicy food, start with a quarter of one chili, taste the paste, and go from there. The heat does not mellow much once the salad is assembled.
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- Quick Ginger Scallion Wontons
- Quick Korean Bibimbap Bowls
- Quick Weeknight Pho Recipe
- Spicy Korean Rice Cakes