Vietnamese Grilled Prawn Noodle Salad
This twist on bun cha is part salad, part noodle, and super fresh!
Ingredients
Pickled carrot/daikon
Lemongrass shrimp
Dipping sauce
Instructions
Pickled carrot/daikon
  1. Dissolve the salt, sugar, vinegar and hot water. Pour over julienned carrots and daikon. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes.
Lemongrass shrimp
  1. Trim base end of the lemongrass stalks and pound the bottom white/light green half of the stalk with the back of the knife so that the stalks start to break apart. Thinly slice the white/light green ends of the lemongrass and mince.
  2. Mince a shallot and combine the lemongrass, shallot, sugar, fish sauce and oil. If they’re not de-veined, cut the back side of the shrimp through the shell halfway and pull out the vein. Alternatively, you can remove the shell just around the body (keeping the tail and head in tact). I personally love grilled shrimp heads but if it’s not your thing, feel free to toss them.
  3. Marinate the prawns in the lemongrass marinade for at least one hour (less if you take off the shells).
  4. Preheat the grill on high and brush the grill with a little oil. Sprinkle a little salt over the prawns. Run a bamboo skewer through the prawn inserting from the bottom through the head.
  5. Grill each prawn about 2-4 minutes on each side depending on how large they are until cooked all the way through (i.e., until they are opaque).
Assembly
  1. Cook the rice noodles according to the package instructions.
  2. Mix the dipping sauce ingredients until dissolved.
  3. To assemble the bowls, add a few lettuce leaves to the bowl, top with a small handful of noodles, top with prawn skewers and then top with the fresh herbs. Pour the dipping sauce over. Serve with the pickled carrot and daikon, extra lime wedges or Thai chilies.