Here we toss rice noodles with crunchy vegetables, fresh herbs, tofu and a light, sweet, tart and salty Vietnamese dressing flavored with fish sauce and wrap the mixture in lettuce leaves. For a vegetarian version, use reduced-sodium soy sauce or tamari in place of the fish sauce. Pass the mixture, lettuce leaves and sauce separately so everyone can make their own wraps.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces thin rice noodles, or rice sticks (see Note)
- 1/4 cup water 5 teaspoons fish sauce, (see Note)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 8 ounces firm or extra-firm seasoned tofu, thinly sliced
- 1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks
- 1 cup snow peas, trimmed and very thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint 8 large leaves green-leaf lettuce
Preparation
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add rice noodles (or rice sticks) and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Gently squeeze noodles to remove most of the water. Meanwhile, combine 1/4 cup water, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and crushed red pepper to taste in a small bowl. Coarsely chop the noodles and combine in a large bowl with tofu, carrot, snow peas, basil and mint. Pour the sauce over the salad and toss to combine. To serve, spoon about 1/2 cup salad onto each lettuce leaf and roll up.
Tips & Notes Dried thin rice noodles (or rice sticks) are also called "bun" or "vermicelli-style" rice noodles. Look for them in the Asian section of your co-op or Asian-foods market. Fish sauce is a pungent Southeast Asian condiment made from salted, fermented fish. Find it in the ethnic section of your co-op or Asian specialty market.
Total Time: 25 minutes Servings: 4, 2 wraps each
Recipe provided by NCG strongertogether.coop