Craving-Vietnamese Salad

I live in rural West Virginia, and when I crave Vietnamese food there is no restaurant to satiate that craving, so I came up with this close simulation of a noodle bowl entree to cure the craving! The spiciness can be varied to suit your diners, but nearly everyone loves this salad. It makes a lot, so is suitable for cookouts or group suppers. Lots of ingredients, but well worth the bother! Folks will rave, so it is worth it.

• Preparation Time: 45 mins
• Cooking Time: 5 mins
• Total Time: 50 mins
• Calories: 478 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 pound cooked and peeled shrimp
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• ¼ cup fish sauce
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce, or more to taste
• ¼ cup mirin (Japanese sweet wine)
• 1 ½ cups matchstick-cut carrots
• ⅓ cup mirin (Japanese sweet wine)
• 1 bunch cilantro, stems discarded
• ¾ cup salted peanuts
• 1 pound thin-cut boneless pork chops, sliced very thinly
• 1 (8 ounce) package rice vermicelli noodles
• 1 head red leaf lettuce, coarsely shredded
• 1 cucumber - peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch matchsticks
• ½ red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch matchsticks
• ½ cup bottled Asian sesame dressing

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Combine 1/4 cup mirin, soy sauce, 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce, brown sugar, and garlic in a bowl. Stir in pork. Let marinate in the refrigerator, 1 to 4 hours.

Step 2

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pork, discarding marinade; cook and stir until lightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain excess juices and allow to cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.

Step 3

Place noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak until softened, about 5 minutes. Drain and cut into short lengths.

Step 4

Combine drained noodles, shrimp, scallions, lettuce, carrots, cucumber, red bell pepper, and cilantro in a large bowl to make salad. Stir in pork.

Step 5

Mix sesame dressing, 1/3 cup mirin, 1/4 cup fish sauce, and 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce in a bowl to make dressing. Pour over salad and toss until well-mixed.

Step 6

Grind peanuts coarsely in a food processor. Sprinkle on top of the salad.