Take a healthy Vietnamese approach to salads by using cold vermicelli noodles with a sweet dressing, shellfish, coriander and mint
Prep:25 mins
Serves 6
200g thin rice noodle (vermicelli)12 cherry tomatoes, halved1 tbsp fish saucejuice 1 lime2 tsp palm sugar or soft brown sugar1 large red chilli, ½ diced, ½ sliced2 pink grapefruits, segmented½ cucumber, peeled, deseeded and thinly sliced2 carrots, cut into matchsticks3 spring onions, thinly sliced400g cooked large prawnlarge handful mint, leaves pickedlarge handful coriander, leaves picked
STEP 1Put the noodles in a bowl, breaking them up a little, and cover with boiling water from the kettle. Leave to soak for 10 mins until tender. Drain, rinse under cold running water, then leave the noodles to drain thoroughly.STEP 2In the same bowl, lightly squash the cherry tomatoes – we used the end of a rolling pin. Stir in the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and diced chilli. Taste for the right balance of sweet, sour and spicy – adjust if necessary (see tip, below).STEP 3Toss through the noodles, then add all the remaining ingredients, except the sliced chilli. Season and give everything a good stir, then divide the noodle salad between 6 serving dishes and sprinkle over the chilli before serving.
