This Vietnamese-style Saigon noodle salad recipe is my "too hot to cook" staple. It is bursting with flavor and makes great use of leftover grilled meat or shrimp.
Ingredients:
¼ cup water, or more to taste
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar, or more to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
½ teaspoon sriracha sauce
1 (8 ounce) package (linguine-width) rice noodles
2 cups thinly sliced napa (chinese) cabbage
1 ½ cups matchstick-cut (julienne) carrots
8 ounces grilled shrimp
1 cup bean sprouts
½ english cucumber, halved lengthwise and cut into thin slices
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 ⅔ tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 ⅔ tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 ⅔ tablespoons chopped fresh basil
½ cup coarsely chopped peanuts
Directions:
Gather all ingredients.
Whisk water, lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and Sriracha together in a bowl until sugar is dissolved.
Bring a large pot of water to a full boil; remove from heat. Add rice noodles; soak for 1 minute. Stir to separate noodles; continue soaking until noodles are tender, about 3 minutes more. Drain noodles. Rinse with cold water until cool; shake and drain in a colander to remove as much water as possible.
Combine noodles, cabbage, carrots, shrimp, bean sprouts, cucumber slices, green onions, mint, cilantro, and basil in a large bowl.
Drizzle dressing over salad; toss to coat. Top with chopped peanuts.
