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Zoomed-in photo of Japanese Vermicelli Salad.
Japanese Vermicelli Salad (Harusame Salad)
Prep Time
15 mins
Total Time
15 mins
 

Japanese Vermicelli Salad is a refreshing summery salad with julienned ham, cucumber, carrot and wakame seaweed. It is simple and fast to make. It can also be a main dish just like noodles!

If you are a vegetarian, omit ham or replace it with other vegetables.

Recipe Type: Salad
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: harusame salad, mung bean thread, Vermicelli Salad
Serves: 2
Author: Yumiko
Ingredients (tbsp=15ml, cup=250ml)
  • 40g harusame (or mung bean vermicelli, note 1)
  • 30g carrot , julienned
  • 50g cucumber , julienned
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 30g sliced ham , julienned (note 2)
  • 20g wakame seaweed (note 3)
Dressing
  • 2.5 tbsp vinegar
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
Topping (optional)
  • Roasted white sesame seeds
Instructions
  1. Combine the Dressing ingredients in a bowl or a jar and mix well until sugar dissolves.

  2. Sprinkle salt over julienned carrot and cucumber in a bowl, mix and leave for 5 minutes. Squeeze water out and place them in a mixing bowl.

  3. Soak harusame in boiling water for 3 minutes or as per the packet instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water. If vermicelli noodles are very long, bunch them together and cut them into 2-3 short strands (= easier to pick them up with chopsticks).

  4. Add vermicelli, ham and wakame seaweed to the mixing bowl and mix them gently ensuring that all ingredients are mixed well.
  5. Toss through the dressing, transfer the salad to a serving plate/bowl and sprinkle roasted sesame seeds over the salad if using.
Recipe Notes

1. Harusame is a Japanese dried vermicelli made from mung bean and/or potato starches. You can buy harusame at Japanese grocery stores but instead of harusame, you can use mung bean vermicelli (also called mung bean thread or green bean thread), which is available at Asian grocery stores. Saw the sample photos of Japanese vermicelli and Chinese vermicelli.

Do not get confused with rice vermicelli. They are not the same and become white when rehydrated while mung bean vermicelli is translucent even after being cooked.

2. Non-smoked regular ham is the best. You can substitute with shredded cooked chicken (poached or steamed).

Omit this or replace with other vegetables such as bean sprouts or julienned black fungus to make it vegetarian. Blanch bean sprouts/black fungus before adding.

3. I rehydrated about a tablespoon of dried wakame seaweed pieces. If you have fresh wakame seaweed, that will be even better. If your wakame seaweed comes as a long seaweed, cut it into smaller pieces.

4. Japanese Vermicelli Salad can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days but the texture of the vermicelli degrades a bit.

5. Nutrition information per serving:

serving: 148g  calories: 282kcal  fat: 15g (23%)  saturated fat: 2.2g (11%)  polyunsaturated fat: 6.1g  monounsaturated fat: 5.5g  cholesterol: 8mg (3%)  sodium: 1435mg (60%) potassium: 324mg (9%)  carbohydrates: 29g (10%)  dietary fibre: 3.3g (13%)  sugar: 8.2g  protein: 9.8g  vitamin a: 52%  vitamin c: 3.1%  calcium: 14%  iron: 19%