This aromatic salad is a tonic on a dreary day. Find frozen wild Argentine shrimp at Save-On or other grocery stores.
| 200 g | thin rice noodle (vermicelli) |
| 12 | wild Argentine shrimp |
| 1 | bay leaf |
| 1 | pink grapefruit |
| 3 | green onion, thinly sliced |
| handful | mint leaves, rough chopped |
| handful | coriander leaves, rough chopped |
Soak the vermicelli in hot water for about 10 minutes to soften. Drain, then rinse under cold running water.
Reserve and allow to drain thoroughly.
Poach shrimp with the bay leaf for about 5 minutes until they are opaque. Stop the cooking with an ice bath, or in very cold water. Reserve in the fridge.
Slice the ends off the grapefruit and stand on a plate or shallow dish (to catch the juice). Use a knife to remove the skin and the pith. Slice down between the segments to separate them, and trim off any pith left behind. Reserve juice for the dressing and the segments for the salad.
Dressing
| 12 | cherry tomatoes, halved |
| 1 t | fish sauce |
| juice of 1 lime | |
| 2 t | brown sugar |
| 1 lg | red chile, ½ diced, ½ sliced |
| ½ | English cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced |
| 1 med | carrot, julienned or ribboned |
Lightly squash the cherry tomatoes and whisk in the fish sauce, grapefruit juice, lime juice, sugar and diced chilli. Taste and adjust, if necessary, with more juice or fish sauce.
Toss the noodles in the dressing, then add everything else, except the sliced chile. Divide the noodle salad between plates and top with the sliced chile.
Serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main course.