Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad

Ingredients

• Garlic
• Sugar
• Water
• Brown sugar
• Lime juice
• Carrots
• Lime
• Fish sauce
• Carrot
• Cold water
• Juice
• Shallots
• Cucumber

Directions

1. For the sauce, combine the lime juice, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, brown sugar, water, minced chiles, and garlic, if using, in a small bowl or a jar. Stir until blended, taste, and add extra fish sauce if you want it. You can prepare the sauce as much as 1 day in advance and leave it at room temperature; if garlic is going in, stir it in close to serving.
2. For the salads, fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Stir in the rice noodles, lower the heat so the water simmers, and cook just until the noodles are tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour them into a colander and rinse right away with plenty of cold water. Jostle the colander to get rid of extra water, then lay the noodles across a clean kitchen towel and let them cool.
3. Portion the noodles among 2 or 3 serving bowls. Add carrots, cucumbers, and meat or tofu on top. Roughly chop or tear the mint, coriander, or basil, then scatter those herbs over the salads.
4. If spring rolls are part of the meal, fry them first, cut the hot rolls into bite-size pieces, and place them around the noodles. Sprinkle on fried shallots, if using, and bring the sauce to the table separately so everyone can add their own.