Bun Tom Heo Nuong

(Vietnamese Shrimps with Rice Vermicelli)

This is essentially a room temperature (Ambient) Noodle dish with fried sea monsters over the top. Sounds dreadful? Not it was as far from dreadful as you can get! We used Atlantic Shrimps (3 for 1 offer, you know!) Which are similar to King Prawns but have a sweeter underlying taste.

Ingredients for the Shrimp marinade:-
 

Atlantic Prawns
1 Tsp of Fish Sauce
A few good grinds of Black Pepper
a Pinch of Turmeric

Ingredients for the Noodle Salad:-

Rice Vermicelli
3 Lettuce leaves, thinly cut
½ a Cucumber, thinly sliced
1/ a bag of Bean Sprouts
1 Carrot, finely sliced
Coriander, finely chopped
Mint leaves, roughly chopped
1 Tsp of dried Basil
3 Tbsp of Peanuts, roughly chopped

Ingredients for the Nuoc Cham (Dipping Sauce):-

¼ cup of Fish Sauce
½ Tsp of Garlic Powder
½ a cup of Warm Water
A dish of Chilli Sauce
50g of Sugar
Juice of a Lime

Method:-

(1) Mix the marinade ingredients and pop the Shrimps in it and place in the fridge.
(2) Cook the Rice Vermicelli according to the instructions on the pack.
(3) Rinse the Noodles with cold water, drain and set aside.
(4) Prepare the vegetables.
(5) For the dipping sauce add the Sugar to warm water to dissolve and then stir in the additional ingredients.
(6) Fry the Shrimps in their marinade until cooked and pink.
(7) Place the Lettuce, Coriander, Mint and Basil in your serving bowls.
(8) Top with the Noodles, Carrots, Cucumber, Bean Sprouts.
(9) Add the fried Shrimps.
(10) Pour over the dipping sauce and garnish with the chopped Peanuts.

We served ours with a soft centred Tokneneng each (Recipe here - http://www.eatwellonuc.org.uk/index.php/recipes/499-tokneneng) This flavour combination had a real wow factor!