VIETNAMESE COLD NOODLE SOUP

The Vietnamese are masters of balance in their cooking and the sweet, hot, sour and herbaceous profile of this soup makes eating a bowl of it akin to plunging into a pool on a hot day – it leaves you totally revitalised. It goes without saying you need super-fresh lettuce and cucumber. As with all great yet simple dishes, there is no place for substandard ingredients to hide and escape scrutiny.

For a real hit of perfume, crack a fresh coconut for the coconut water in the sauce and it will lift the entire dish. And while we’re on the subject, this is just a reminder that coconut palm sugar is a sustainable and renewable crop – unlike the palmyra plant, the harvesting of which is responsible for mass deforestation. It’s always good to seek out food producers who care.

Serves 6

250g rice vermicelli noodles 1 iceberg lettuce, shredded 80g bean sprouts 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks 1 long cucumber, halved, seeded and cut into matchsticks 3 spring onions, green parts sliced 2 handfuls of coriander, cut into 2cm lengths Handful of mint leaves Small handful of Vietnamese mint leaves 35g crushed roasted peanuts

For the sauce:

80ml lime juice 65g coconut palm sugar 100ml coconut water 60ml Thai-seasoned soy sauce 2 bird’s eye chillies, finely sliced 3 cloves garlic, crushed ¼tsp cracked white pepper

1Place

the noodles in a large bowl and cover with hot water. Leave to soak for 10 minutes, then drain. Divide the noodles among six bowls. 2For

the sauce, place the lime juice and palm sugar in a jug and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the coconut water, soy sauce, chilli, garlic and pepper, along with 200ml of water. Stir until well combined. 3Evenly

divide the lettuce, bean sprouts, carrot, cucumber, spring onion, herbs and peanuts among the noodle bowls. Serve topped with sauce.