Vietnamese Noodle Salad

Last night I had a “blog party”.  I like to stay ahead of the game and cook a bunch of things at one time, photograph them and start writing their stories.  My friends love coming over for the blog parties because of course I serve up all those wonderful dishes  after I’m done with their photo shoots.  Today’s recipe was the main dish at the blog party last night and it went over very well.  It was a gorgeous and cool night and this light meal really hit the spot.  I don’t know much about wine pairing but my friend brought over a nice crisp Riesling and I really enjoyed them together.

I love a good asian inspired meal.  They are full of flavor, spice and once you buy the ingredients for one meal you pretty much have the ingredients for many asian meals!  The ingredient list for this recipe is long but I had most of them on hand.  The only things I needed to pop over to the grocery store for were the fresh veggies, herbs and steak. This would also be a perfect noodle side dish if you omit the steak.   

Vietnamese Noodle Salad

from Some The Wiser

1 lb grilled flank steak, sliced thin

8 oz vermicelli rice noodles

1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and sliced

1 c. shredded carrots

1/3 c. fresh basil, minced

1/3 c. fresh cilantro, minced

1/3 c. fresh mint, minced

1-2 jalapeno peppers, minced

Dressing Ingredients:

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil, plus some for rice noodles

1 tbsp chili garlic sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 lime, juice only

dash of fish sauce

1. Cook rice noodles according to the package {boil them for a few minutes in water}.  Drain noodles  and rinse them with cold water then toss them with a drizzle of sesame oil.
2. Slice steak thinly against the grain and set aside.
3. Mince herbs and peel cucumber and remove seeds with spoon.  Slice cucumber into short sticks.  Dice jalapeno peppers.
4. Whisk dressing ingredients together in a small bowl until well combined.
5. Combine veggies with herbs and noodles.  Toss with dressing.
6. Top with sliced steak and serve.  {Great at room temp or chilled!}