Vietnamese Shrimp and Glass Noodle Salad
Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson (Copyright 2004, Feast, Hyperion, All Rights Reserved)

One reviewer suggested garnishing the salad with toasted peanuts, which I have seen done in other recipes.

Notes: In the UK many supermarkets stock what they call long red chillies. I could not discover what type of chilies these are or how hot they are.

Glass noodles are a type of transparent noodle made from starch (such as mung bean starch, yam, potato starch, cassava or canna starch), and water. Also called cellophane noodles, Chinese vermicelli, bean threads, bean thread noodles, or crystal noodles. They should not be confused with rice vermicelli, which is made from rice and is white in color rather than clear (after cooking in water).

Vietnamese Dressing:
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
2 fresh long red chiles, seeded and finely diced or julienned
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
4 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
1 lime, juiced
4 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons groundnut oil (peanut oil)
1 teaspoon 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
1/2 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 1/2 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.

4 servings

Per serving: Calories 307; Total Fat 5 grams; Saturated Fat 0.5 grams; Protein 18 grams; Total Carbohydrate 49 grams; Sugar: 8 grams; Fiber 2 grams; Cholesterol 115 milligrams; Sodium 1588 milligrams