Recipe: Vietnamese Turkey and Glass Noodle Salad

VIETNAMESE TURKEY AND GLASS NOODLE SALAD

FOR THE DRESSING:
2 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
2 fresh long red chillies, deseeded and finely diced
2 tablespoons finely minced ginger
4 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
Juice of 1 lime
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons superfine sugar
FOR THE SALAD:
8 ounces cold turkey, cut into fine strips
6 ounces bean thread or glass noodles
4 ounces sugar snap peas
4 ounces bean sprouts
3 scallions, sliced into thin circles
2 teaspoons peanut oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Simply mix all the ingredients together. This will keep very well in a tightly sealed jar in the fridge for at least a week.

TO MAKE THE SALAD:
Marinate the turkey strips in 1/2 cup of the Vietnamese dressing and while this is going on, soak the noodles in freshly boiled water and once rehydrated (see package instructions) refresh them in cold water, then drain.

Put the sugar snaps and bean sprouts into a colander and pour over them freshly boiled water from a kettle. Rinse them with cold water and drain well - just shaking the colander - so they're not actually wet.

In a large bowl, mix the marinated turkey strips, juicy with sauce and flecked with chilli, with the drained noodles, scallions, sugar snaps and bean sprouts. Dress with the oils and 2 tablespoons more of the Vietnamese dressing, though do taste to see if you want to add any more. It really depends on how astringent you want this. Sprinkle over the chopped cilantro and toss everything together well before arranging on a large plate.

Note from the author: I am not going to make any false claims here: this salad is not actually from Vietnam, indeed I have no reason to believe they even eat turkey there, but it contains a mixture of Vietnamese elements. The first is the dressing, salty, sour, sweet and headily spiked with ginger, chilli and garlic. And then there are the noodles, eaten not hot but slippery-cool to form the basis of a light but still filling salad. I've specified glass noodles (sometimes known as cellophane or bean thread noodles), but you could easily substitute rice vermicelli.

Serves 4 to 6
Source: Feast: Food to Celebrate Life by Nigella Lawson