A refreshing Thai noodle salad, with basil and mint leaves in a traditional fish sauce and rice wine dressing.
Ingredients:
4 ounces rice vermicelli
⅓ cup Fish Sauce
¼ cup granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons lime juice, lime wedges for garnish
3 Tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
2 teaspoons Dark Sesame Oil
1 medium shallot, halved and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely grated or minced
Black pepper to taste
1 medium English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and cut into matchsticks
2 Fresno or Jalapeno chilies, seeded and thinly sliced (optional)
½ cup salted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
½ cup lightly packed torn basil leaves
½ cup lightly packed mint leaves, roughly chopped
Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the vermicelli, stir to combine and turn off the heat. Let stand until the noodles are fully tender, about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander, rinse under cold running water until completely cooled, then drain again. Transfer to a medium bowl. If the noodles are very long, use kitchen shears to snip them into more manageable lengths.
In a small saucepan, combine the fish sauce and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, shallot, garlic and ½ teaspoon pepper. Pour the mixture over the noodles, then add the cucumbers. Toss to combine, then let stand, tossing occasionally, for about 15 minutes.
Add the chilies, red pepper and peanuts; toss to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Toss in the herbs then transfer to a serving dish. Serve with lime wedges
Yield: 4 servings
Total Time: 20 minutes
Tips
While fresh herbs are preferred for this recipe, you can use dried herbs. Since dried herbs are more potent, you will need to use less of it. The ratio conversion is for every tablespoon of fresh herbs in a recipe substitute 1 teaspoon of dried herbs.
Recipe contributed by Kathy Oberman Tracy
Photo credit: grilledcheesesocial.com/