Vietnamese Prawn and Herb Salad

• 500 graw king prawns, peeled and deveined
• 2garlic cloves, finely grated
• 1 tbspgroundnut or vegetable oil
• 200 gdried vermicelli rice noodles
• 300 gwhite cabbage, finely shredded
• 2carrots, peeled and julienned or coarsely grated
• 1cucumber, halved lengthways, seeds scraped out, thinly sliced
• 20 gmint leaves, torn
• 20 gcoriander, leaves torn and fine stems chopped
• 15 gbasil leaves, torn
• 4spring onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 3 tbspfish sauce
• 3 tbspfresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
• 2 tbspcaster sugar
• 1garlic clove, finely grated
• 1fresh red chilli, finely sliced
• 3 tbspwarm water
• Fine salt, to taste
• 50 groasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped, optional (optional)
• 1fresh red chilli, finely sliced (optional)
• 1lime, cut into wedges (optional)
• 100 gprawn crackers (optional)
• 160 gvietnamese pickled daikon and carrot (đồ chua) (optional)
• Black pepper, to taste

Method

1. 1Whisk the fish sauce, 2 tbsp lime juice, 1½ tbsp sugar, dressing garlic, chilli and warm water until the sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust with the reserved tablespoon of lime juice and ½ tbsp sugar as needed.
2. 2Tip the vermicelli into a large heatproof bowl and pour over just-boiled water to cover. Soak for 4–5 minutes until tender with a little bite, then drain and rinse thoroughly under cold running water to stop the cooking and wash off the surface starch; sticky noodles won't take the dressing.
3. 3While the noodles soak, combine the shredded cabbage, julienned carrot and sliced cucumber in a large mixing bowl. A pinch of salt over the vegetables now wakes them up and starts to soften the cabbage's raw edge.
4. 4Pat the prawns thoroughly dry with kitchen paper. Toss with the grated garlic and season generously with salt and pepper.
5. 5Heat the oil in a large stainless steel or cast iron frying pan or wok over a high heat until it shimmers and just starts to ripple. Lay the prawns in a single layer; work in two batches if your pan is crowded, because crowded prawns boil in their own juices instead of catching colour. Cook for 1 minute on the first side until the underside is pink and lightly bronzed, then turn and cook for another 60–90 seconds until curled, opaque and just firm to the touch. The garlic will smell fragrant and look pale gold; pull the pan off the heat the moment it threatens to go past that.
6. 6Add the drained noodles to the vegetable bowl and pour over two-thirds of the nuoc cham. Toss thoroughly with your hands so every strand and shred is glossy with dressing; hands work better than tongs here, you can feel when it's evenly coated.
7. 7Fold through most of the torn mint, torn basil, coriander leaves and chopped fine stems, and spring onions, keeping a small handful of each back for the top. Taste a forkful and season again if it needs it; most of the salt is doing its work through the fish sauce, but a final pinch ties the herbs and noodles together.
8. 8Divide the dressed noodle salad between four bowls and lay the seared prawns on top, scraping any garlicky pan oil over them.
9. 9Spoon over the remaining dressing and scatter with the reserved torn herbs and spring onions. Add the optional extra chilli and peanuts if using.
10. 10Serve with the optional ready-made pickled daikon and carrot, lime wedges and prawn crackers if using.

Per serving

kcal

434

protein

34.9g

fibre

5g

carbs

61.4g

fat

4.9g