Vietnamese Shrimp and Glass Noodle Salad

Still suffering from those additional holiday pounds?  This salad makes it easy to get started with a fresh and light diet.

Vietnamese cuisine is well known for its contrasts of taste and texture and this salad is no exception. Crunchy bean sprouts and sugar snap peas are mixed with light glass noodles and dressed in a tangy ginger-lime dressing. The shrimp add great flavor and protein and the Chile rounds the dressing with a slight spiceness. I was a little bit worried that the flavor of the fish sauce would be overwhelming so I started out using a small teaspoon. I ended up adding the whole amount and it worked out perfectly.

Vietnamese Shrimp and Glass Noodle Salad
(From Nigella Lawson)


Vietnamese Dressing:
2 Cloves Garlic, minced or crushed
2 Fresh Long Red Chiles, seeded and finely diced or julienned
2 Tbsp Finely Minced Fresh Ginger
4 Tbsp Fish Sauce (Nam Pla)
1 Lime, juiced
4 Tbsp Water
1 Tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Groundnut Oil
1 tsp Sesame Oil

Salad:
8 ounces Cooked Small Shrimp
6 ounces Glass Noodles
4 ounces Sugar Snap Peas
4 ounces Bean Sprouts
3 Scallions, sliced into thin circles
½ cup Finely Chopped Fresh Cilantro Leaves, to garnish



To make the Vietnamese Dressing, simply mix all the ingredients together. This will keep very well in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator for at least a week.

To make the salad, marinate the shrimp in ½ cup of the Vietnamese Dressing. While this is going on, soak the noodles in freshly boiled water according to packet instructions. Once re-hydrated, refresh the noodles in cold water, then drain. Put the sugar snaps and bean sprouts into a colander and pour over freshly boiled water from a kettle. Rinse them with cold water and drain well, just shaking the colander, so they're not actually wet.

In a large bowl, mix the marinated shrimp with the drained noodles, scallions, sugar snaps, and bean sprouts. Dress with 2 tablespoons more of the Vietnamese Dressing; add more dressing, to taste, if desired.

Sprinkle over the chopped cilantro and toss everything together well before arranging onto a large plate.