Vietnamese Inspired Noodle salad

I really enjoy the fresh flavours of Vietnamese food and make this salad quite often over summer. It is a salad inspired by  and not an authentic recipe. It is perfect in hot weather and makes a great dish for 'ladies that lunch' leaving plenty of room for a decadent dessert.

 The base salad can be made into a more substantial meal with the addition of chicken, barbecued meat such as rump sliced across the grain and seafood. Sometimes I serve the salad separately to the meat or I slice the meat and toss through as shown below.

I usually cook the meat, however, purchased roast chicken or cooked prawns(shells and heads removed) are also very good.  Chinese roast duck is excellent. As with most of my recipe ideas adapt to you taste. Use less of an ingredient or leave it out, add things that you like or have to hand. For the salad think fresh, colourful, crisp and crunchy. Add more chilli if you want it hotter.

Vietnamese Style Salad
1/3-1/2 packet Rice vermicelli/rice noodles
Cos / Iceberg lettuce
carrot, capsicum, red salad onion, asparagus spears, snow peas, cucumber, green beans or any selection of vegetables
bean sprouts if you have them
fresh herbs - mint, Vietnamese mint, coriander- 1/2 bunch each
2-6 fresh long red chilli- deseeded and finely sliced or chopped

Place noodles in boiling water and cook until tender - approx3- 4 minutes, drain, rinse and allow to cool.
Cut up vegetables into thin matchstick length shapes (julienne), coarsely shred the lettuce.
Combine all salad ingredients and toss.
Place in serving plate and pour dressing over the salad just before serving.
*If adding meat/chicken/seafood to salad do it just before serving and toss again before putting onto serving plate.

Dressing
Juice of 1-2 limes
2 tablepoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil - optional
2 cloves garlic, crushed
small knob of green ginger ,finely grated-optional

Alternative Dressing
2 tablespoons Poonsin Vietnamese Dipping sauce - available in supermarkets
1 -2 tablespoon sushi vinegar if you have no lime juice or combination of both
1-2 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil - optional
2 cloves garlic, crushed
small knob of green ginger ,finely grated-optional

Place ingredients for dressing in a jar and shake or whisk together in a bowl. Pour over salad

organise the ingredients

noodles, salad vegetables, herbs and chilli ready to be tossed

salad ingredients tossed

salad ready to serve