Vietnamese Lemongrass Shrimp Salad With Vermicelli - Bun Tom Xao - cooking recipe

Ingredients

For the Shrimp
6 ounces shrimp, cleaned and deveined
2 stalks lemongrass
2 tablespoons peanut oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
2 cups onions, cut into slivers
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
For the Salad
2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
1/2 cup cilantro, sprigs
1/2 cup basil sprig
4 tablespoons chopped peanuts
8 ounces rice vermicelli
1 - 1 1/2 cup nuoc nam (Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese Spicy Fish Sauce))

Preparation

Bring water to a boil in a large pot; stir in vermicelli.
Cook until just tender and drain in colander.
Flatten lemongrass with cleaver and mince white part; discard rest.
Heat oil in wok; add garlic, lemongrass, and red pepper flakes.
Cook until lemongrass is slightly wilted.
Add onions and stir-fry until onions are tender.
Mix fish sauce with sugar and add to wok with shrimp; stir-fry 3-4 minutes more or until shrimp is cooked.
For each salad place 1 cup of lettuce in bottom of bowl.
Top with 3/4 cup of bean sprouts.
Place half the cooked noodles over vegetables in bowl.
Top noodles with lemongrass shrimp and onions.
Garnish with peanuts.
Serve with a plate of cilantro sprigs and basil sprigs.
Also serve a bowl of Nuoc Mam, recipe#25375, about 1/2-3/4 cup per salad.
Place\"Tuong Ot Sriracha\" (Viet hot sauce) or sambal oeleck on the table as condiments.