Vietnamese Rice Noodles With Lemongrass Shrimp
Published May 2, 2017
Karsten Moran for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
FOR THE PICKLED VEGETABLES
1 cup finely julienned carrot
1 cup finely julienned daikon
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
FOR THE DIPPING SAUCE
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce, like Red Boat
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced or grated ginger
1 medium-hot red chile pepper, such as Fresno, finely chopped
1 red or green bird chile pepper, thinly sliced, or substitute half a thinly sliced serrano pepper
FOR THE SHRIMP AND NOODLES
1 ½ pounds shrimp, preferably wild, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons finely chopped lemongrass, pale tender center part only
1 pound rice noodles, preferably rice vermicelli
1 or 2 small lettuce heads, with the leaves separated, rinsed and patted dry
3 cups mixed herb sprigs, such as cilantro, mint, basil, watercress and tender celery leaves
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 scallions, slivered
4 tablespoons crushed roasted peanuts
Handful of bean sprouts (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
116 grams carbs; 274 milligrams cholesterol; 774 calories; 8 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 13 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 2215 milligrams sodium; 47 grams protein; 16 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make the pickled vegetables: Put carrot and daikon in a small bowl and sprinkle with sugar and salt. Add rice vinegar, toss well and set aside.
- Step 2
Make the dipping sauce: In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, ginger and chiles. Stir in ½ cup cold water and let mixture sit for 15 minutes. (Leftover sauce will keep up to 3 days, refrigerated.)
- Step 3
Marinate the shrimp: Put shrimp in a shallow dish. Add fish sauce, brown sugar, garlic and lemongrass. Mix well to coat.
- Step 4
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Turn off heat and add rice noodles. Soak noodles, stirring occasionally, until softened, usually about 7 to 8 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Leave in colander at room temperature.
- Step 5
Prepare a platter of lettuce leaves and herb sprigs for the table. Keep cool, covered with a damp towel.
- Step 6
Put oil in a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add shrimp without crowding (work in batches if necessary). Cook for about 2 minutes per side, until lightly browned.
- Step 7
To serve, divide noodles among 4 large soup bowls, then top each with hot shrimp, pickled vegetables and a tablespoon or so of dipping sauce. Sprinkle with scallions and peanuts (and beans sprouts if using). Pass herb platter and remaining dipping sauce at the table, and encourage guests to customize bowls as desired.
Private Notes
Comments
Vietnamese here. I’m quite impress with the recipes - the beef marinate is just like what I’ve had at home. You could simplify by skipping ginger for the dipping sauce - Fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic, chile and warm water are the necessary ingredients. One tip: Vietnamese normally top the meat/shrimp with scallion oil - you can make it quickly by adding chopped scallion, olive/veggie oil, little bit of salt, and microwave for 30s.
I would also recommend trying this recipe with a firm white fish on the grill. Try grilling marinated catfish fillets. https://kathynle.com/2012/05/29/bun-ca-nuong-grilled-fish-over-noodles-a...
FYI, straight up nuoc cham does not have ginger in it. The ginger variation is good for a variety of dishes, but it's not the original version. Also, I tend to go with either ginger or lemongrass in a dish but not both. I find that the flavors are confusing together.
If you, like me, think raw bean sprouts are too pungent, blanch them by throwing them into the hot water with the noodles for the last 30 seconds.
This is the best Vietnamese noodle salad I’ve had outside of Vietnam! I forgot to add the water to the dipping sauce and it was great - next time if I added water I would do half what the recipe says. It did also take a lot longer than expected to make but definitely worth the effort!
I added peanutbutter to the sauce, fried some tofu and used that to fill some summer rolls along some fresh spinach, the pickled vegetables and vermicelli. Really good!
Delicious but cutting the vegetables julienne took too much time. My julienne grater is in storage right now. I found 1 pound of vermicelli to be too much.