Vietnamese Mushroom Salad

PREP TIME: 20 Min

SERVES: 4

1-2 chillies, sliced (leave the seeds in for a hotter dressing)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon palm or brown sugar
juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
200g Swiss brown or white mushrooms, quartered
2 carrots, grated
half a cucumber, grated, discard seeds before grating
5 spring onions, sliced
100g rice vermicelli
half a cup fresh coriander, finely chopped
half a cup mint, (Vietnamese, garden or a mix)
quarter of a cup Thai or purple basil leaves, optional

Method

In a large bowl, whisk together the chillies, garlic, sugar, lime juice, vinegar and fish sauce to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the mushrooms and set aside for at least 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients, turning the mushrooms occasionally in the dressing.
Add the carrot, cucumber, spring onion and toss.
Place the rice vermicelli in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 5 minutes or until soft then drain well and rinse with cold water.
To serve, add the noodles, coriander, mint, Thai basil if using to the salad and toss well.

Serving Suggestion

If you are looking for an alternative to fish sauce, Anna Jones has a great recipe:

5g of dried shiitake mushrooms

1 tablespoon of white miso paste

2 tablespoons of fermented black bean paste

optional: 1 tablespoon of umeboshi plum seasoning

1 tablespoon of white miso paste

100ml of tamari or light soy sauce

Cover the mushrooms in about 200ml of hot water and leave for about 20 minutes. Then sitr in the miso and black bean paste and push the lot through a sieve, using the back of a spoon to push through the last bits, throw away the mushrooms now they have done their job.

If using, add the plum seasoning to the soy sauce and leave to cool completely. Store in a jar in the fridge, it will keep for about 6 weeks.

MADE WITH