Craving-Vietnamese Salad

Description

I live in rural West Virginia, and when I crave Vietnamese food there is no restaurant to satiate that craving, so I came up with this close simulation of a noodle bowl entree to cure the craving! The spiciness can be varied to suit your diners, but nearly everyone loves this salad. It makes a lot, so is suitable for cookouts or group suppers. Lots of ingredients, but well worth the bother! Folks will rave, so it is worth it.

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup mirin (Japanese sweet wine)
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce, or more to taste
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 pound thin-cut boneless pork chops, sliced very thinly
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 (8 ounce) package rice vermicelli noodles
  • 1 pound cooked and peeled shrimp
  • 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1 head red leaf lettuce, coarsely shredded
  • 1 ½ cups matchstick-cut carrots
  • 1 cucumber – peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch matchsticks
  • ½ red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch matchsticks
  • 1 bunch cilantro, stems discarded
  • ½ cup bottled Asian sesame dressing
  • ⅓ cup mirin (Japanese sweet wine)
  • ¼ cup fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce, or more to taste
  • ¾ cup salted peanuts

Instructions

  1. Combine 1/4 cup mirin
  2. soy sauce
  3. 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  4. 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
  5. brown sugar
  6. and garlic in a bowl. Stir in pork. Let marinate in the refrigerator
  7. 1 to 4 hours.
  8. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pork
  9. discarding marinade; cook and stir until lightly browned
  10. 5 to 10 minutes. Drain excess juices and allow to cool to room temperature
  11. about 15 minutes.
  12. Place noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak until softened
  13. about 5 minutes. Drain and cut into short lengths.
  14. Combine drained noodles
  15. shrimp
  16. scallions
  17. lettuce
  18. carrots
  19. cucumber
  20. red bell pepper
  21. and cilantro in a large bowl to make salad. Stir in pork.
  22. Mix sesame dressing
  23. 1/3 cup mirin
  24. 1/4 cup fish sauce
  25. and 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce in a bowl to make dressing. Pour over salad and toss until well-mixed.
  26. Grind peanuts coarsely in a food processor. Sprinkle on top of the salad.

Prep Time: 45 mins

Cook Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 2 hrs 10 mins

Servings: 8

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