Little Saigon?

Nope. Just a quick lunch at home. I often get a craving for one of these refreshing Vietnamese salads. So I figured it was time to learn to make them. I'm pretty happy with my first effort.




It's easy to improvise. You need some cooked and cooled rice noodles of some kind. Something green and crisp - lettuce is fine. Some cucumber slices are good to throw in. And some fresh herbs. I used basil, mint, chives and Vietnamese coriander - all from the garden. The "Everyday Pickled Carrots" from the book pictured are essential. I used a good handful of these:

Mix equal parts white vinegar and sugar (3/4 c each) and add 1 1/2 c water and 1 tsp salt. Cook 3-4 m to dissolve the sugar. Cool, then add 3/4 lb grated carrots (use food processor for this). Set aside 20-30 m. Keeps up to five days in fridge.

The protein can be anything or nothing. I had a little grassfed flatiron steak that I brushed with a mixture of soy and fish sauce and hoisin and grilled.

Other ingredients that I could have included: fresh lime, roasted peanuts, Ginger, bean sprouts, hot peppers in some form....another time!



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