Vietnamese Nems salad

Ingredients

50g Glass noodles
3 Shitake mushrooms (I buy mine dried)
1/2 cup Chinese leaf (chopped)
1 handful Beansprouts
1 handful Collard green (chopped)
1 Shallot (finely chopped)
1 Carrot (grated)
1/2 tablespoon Soy sauce
Rice paper (buy from Asian shops or big supermarkets. I got wholemeal rice paper but regular ones are fine.)
Noodles (I used Soba noodles but any type will do. You can even use spaghetti.)
1 Large Cucumber chunk (chopped into strips)
handful Fresh coriander leaves
handful Fresh mint leaves
handful Crushed peanuts
handful Lettuce (chopped)
2 tablespoons Light soy sauce
4 tablespoons water
Lemon juice
2 teaspoons Sugar (I used light brown sugar)

Directions


In a bowl, cover the shitake mushrooms and glass noodles with boiling water and let it sit for 5 minutes or until soft.

In a separate bowl, mix all the prepared veggies ( chinese leaf, bean sprouts, collard green, shallots, carrot) and add 1/2 a tablespoon of soy sauce.

When the mushrooms and glass noodles are ready, drain and chop them. Add to the veggies.

To roll the nems, you will need a clean tea towel and a large dish where you can dip the rice paper.

Pour boiling water in your dish. Add a teaspoon of sugar (helps caramelised the nems when cooking). Dip one rice paper at a time for a few seconds, until soft. Carefully move the rice paper to your tea towel (lie it flat in front of you) to absorb some of the water. Fold the bottom of the rice paper (about 1/8) on itself. This is where the filling will go. Spoon a good amount of the veggie/glass noodles mixture on the rice paper. I find it best to have too much rather than not enough. Fold the side of the rice paper over the filing and roll tightly. Place on a plate and cover with a damp tea towel while you keep rolling the remaining nems.

You can either shallow fry the nems straight away until golden brown or keep them in the fridge covered with a damp tea towel until for 24 hours. You can also freeze them at this point.

Nems require about 5-7 minutes on each side, cooking a medium heat. While the nems are cooking, prepare the sauce. Mix 2 tablespoons light soy sauce with 4 tablespoons water and the juice of half a lemon. Add 2 teaspoons sugar and mix. Taste and more sugar or soy sauce if necessary.

To assemble your salad, put some cooked noodles, chopped lettuce, cucumber and a couple of chopped nems. Drizzle some sauce over and sprinkle crushed peanuts, mint and coriander leaves.