I have to confess, I attempted to make Vietnamese summer rolls this week, but the rice paper didn’t cooperate. Talk about a frustrating experience. However, the Route 100 noodles I recently had at the Mehuron’s deli inspired me to throw all the summer roll ingredients together for what turned out to be a pretty awesome salad.
Fill a bowl with hot water and soak approximately 4 ounces of vermicelli rice noodles for approximately 10 minutes. Run under cold water, drain and set aside. To make the dressing, stir together a little bit of vegetable and sesame oil, some soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, fresh lime juice, a pinch of cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste.
For the salad, combine 1/3 of a bunch each of roughly chopped basil, mint and cilantro, some sliced radish, carrots, cucumber and snap or snow peas. Pile the drained noodles on a cutting board, cut into quarters and then toss with the salad ingredients and dressing.
If you’re looking for more of a meal, add some thinly sliced cooked shrimp or pork.