Nutritionist and private chef Dorothy Woods has devised recipes that are fun to cook with your partner, a friend or a family memberVietnamese-style prawns and rice noodle salad
Vietnamese food is the queen of cuisines. It's got many of the flavours and ingredients of other South-East Asian cooking but has a unique freshness from its abundance of herbs and raw or lightly cooked vegetables.
It relies less on frying and more on refreshingly delicate options such as rice paper and rice noodles. This salad is the perfect nod to the singularity of Vietnamese cooking, and doesn't require too much technical skill required.
For the prawns
◆ 250g fresh or frozen raw prawns, peeled and de-veined
◆ ½ bunch of fresh mint
◆ ½ bunch of fresh cilantro/coriander
◆ 1 large shallot
◆ 3 garlic cloves
◆ 1 red chilli (optional)
◆ Juice of 1 lime
◆ 2 tbsp brown sugar
◆ 1 tbsp olive oil
◆ 1 tbsp fish sauce
◆ ½ tbsp soy sauce
For the Salad
◆ 200g uncooked rice vermicelli noodles
◆ 1 large carrot
◆ 1 red bell pepper
◆ 1 small cucumber
◆ 1 head baby gem lettuce
For the Nuoc Cham Dressing
◆ 2 garlic cloves
◆ 1 chilli
◆ 120ml fish sauce
◆ Juice of 1 lime
◆ 2 tbsp rice vinegar
◆ 1 tbsp brown sugar
◆ 120 ml cold water
◆ 1 red chilli, to serve
◆ Fresh mint sprigs
You
1. Rinse, peel and de-vein the prawns if necessary. Put the prawns in a large bowl and toss with the marinade from ME. Place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least ten minutes while you make the salad.
2. Peel the carrot and cut it into long, thin matchsticks. You can also grate it.
3. Remove the seeds from the bell pepper and cucumber and cut into long, thin matchsticks.
4. Peel the leaves off the baby gem. Stack them on top of each other and slice them into thin ribbons. Add the carrot, bell pepper, cucumber, lettuce, mint leaves, and coriander leaves to the bowl with the cooked rice noodles from ME.
5. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a high heat. Add the prawns. Flip after one minute. They should cook through quickly, get a crispy exterior, and turn from clear to opaque. Toss the prawns once more to ensure they cook evenly and remove from the heat. They should take about three minutes total.
Me
1. Separate the leaves from the stems of the mint and coriander. Reserve the mint and coriander leaves for the salad and pass to YOU. Reserve the mint and coriander stems.
2. In a blender or the bowl of a food processor, add the mint and coriander stems along with the shallot, three of the garlic cloves, the chilli (if using), half of the lime juice, two tablespoons of brown sugar, the olive oil, a tablespoon of fish sauce and the soy sauce. This is your marinade. Pass to YOU.
3. In a large bowl, add the vermicelli noodles and soak in the boiling water for five minutes or until they are tender. Drain into a colander and rinse with cold water until the noodles are at room temperature. Return to the bowl. Pass to YOU.
4. Make the salad dressing: Finely chop the remaining three garlic cloves and the remaining chilli. In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, chilli, the remaining lime juice, the remaining fish sauce, the remaining tablespoon of brown sugar, the rice vinegar a splash of cold water.
US
Assemble the salad by tossing the noodles and vegetables with the dressing. Top with the cooked prawns, sliced chilli and mint sprigs.
◆ Cook Together: Recipes for Two in the Kitchen by Dorothy Woods is published by HD Publishing, price £35
This recipe appeared in the September 2024 issue of The Lady magazine.
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