Table Salad (dia xa-lach)
Here bowls of Rice Noodles With Lemongrass Shrimp are served with fresh herbs, bean sprouts,
sliced scallions, roasted peanuts, lime wedges, and Nước Chấm dipping sauce. Besides the shrimp,
the bowls of noodles are served with a carrot and daikon pickle.
Aromatic greens called traditional herbs and table salad are generally used to add texture, flavor, and freshness to cooked dishes brought to the table. Traditional herbs include such exotics as holy basil, rau ram, saw leaves, la lot leaves, cilantro, and mint, which are among the most commonly used. The table salad can include cooked rice vermicelli, lettuce leaves, sliced cucumber, unripe star fruit, fresh chilies, shredded carrot, and lime or lemon wedges. Traditional herbs are served generally with the table salad to complement cha gio (spring rolls) and nem nuong (grilled pork meatballs), for example, and specifically with pho, rice noodle and chicken, beef, or pork soups.
When preparing the table salad, make individual piles of each ingredient on one platter; traditional herbs are similarly arranged. With regard to the herbs, be sure to leave the stems intact, as it is up to each diner to pick the leaves off and use them as they prefer. The leaves are always freshly torn. You can find most of the exotics in Asian markets. If not, do not be discouraged. I always find that the problem goes away as long as you have cilantro, an herb that today is available in any supermarket.
Traditionally, a table salad—traditional herbs, cucumbers, carrots, star fruit, and rice vermicelli—is served with finger foods such as cha gio, spring rolls, nem nuong, grilled pork meatballs, or banh xeo, sizzling "sound" crêpes. Often a bit of each ingredient is wrapped around a cooked morsel with a lettuce leaf. The table salad and wrapper, however, can vary according to the dish you serve. For example, if you were to serve nem nuong, you would use a softened rice paper rather than a lettuce leaf as a wrapper in order to add starch to the meal. If you wanted to serve banh xeo, stuffed rice flour crepe, the rice vermicelli would be omitted because the crepe provides the starch. It can be a little confusing, but one thing to remember is that your meal must be balanced with vegetable, protein, and starch.
Table Salad (dia xa-lach)
from The Flavours of Vietnam, by Meera Freeman, Le Van Nhan
1 head soft lettuce
2 cups bean sprouts
3 cucumbers, finely sliced
3 large sprigs mint leaves
18 small rice-paper wrappers
Separate the lettuce into leaves and wash and dry them. Rinse the bean sprouts and trim off any straggly tails. Arrange the lettuce, vegetables and herbs on a large platter and put the rice-paper wrappers on a separate plate. Take a large bowl of hot water to the table.
Each diner should take a rice-paper wrapper and dip it briefly into the hot water, shaking off any excess moisture. The wrapper will soften immediately. (Rice-paper wrappers shouldn't be soaked for more than a few seconds. as they will become too soft). It is then used to wrap the lettuce, vegetables, herbs, and any desired grilled meat or seafood. Serve with nuoc mam as the dipping sauce.
Table Salad (sa lach dia)
The table salad is wrapped around cooked foods. First a piece of lettuce, then your the cooked food (such as cha gio, spring rolls), then top with carrots, bean sprouts, cucumber, rice noodle, and mint...Then dip in your sauce of choice. Table salad adds your vegetable and starch to your protein. The table salad puts spring rolls over the top.
1 Head Boston Lettuce
1 cucumber thinly sliced and halved
2 carrots julienned
1c rice vermicelli cooked and drained
Bunch of mint
1c bean sprouts
Arrange leaves then noodles and sections of remaining veggies.
