Vietnamese Salad

This veggie dish is inspired by the flavours and textures of the popular Vietnamese street food baguette (Banh Mi).

Originally for Good Housekeeping July 2021, Alex Luck Photography, Food Styling, Alice Shields

Hands-on time 35min.
Cooking time about 10min. Serves 4

FOR THE PICKLES

75ml rice wine vinegar

3tbsp caster sugar

4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks

20cm daikon/mooli radish, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 fresh jalapeño or 1 large green chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

FOR THE DRESSING

3tbsp mayonnaise, vegan, if you like

1tbsp sriracha

Finely grated zest 1⁄2 lime, plus 2tbsp juice

1 garlic clove, crushed

FOR THE SALAD

150g dried rice noodles

280g extra firm tofu, cut into 1cm-wide batons, we used The Tofoo Co.

2tbsp cornflour

2tbsp vegetable oil

1 cucumber

25g bunch coriander, leaves picked and roughly chopped

25g bunch mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped

5tbsp crispy fried onions, we used M&S Cook With Crispy Onions

1 For the pickles, mix vinegar, sugar and 1tsp salt in a large bowl to dissolve the sugar. Add the carrots, daikon/mooli and jalapeño/chilli, stir to coat and set aside.

2 Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a large serving bowl and set aside.

3 For the salad, bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook noodles according to packet instructions. Drain, run under cold water to cool completely, then drain again and empty into serving bowl. Toss to coat.

4 Next, pat tofu batons dry with kitchen paper. Put the cornflour into a shallow bowl and season well. Toss the tofu gently in the cornflour to coat. Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Fry tofu, occasionally turning carefully, until golden and crisp. Set aside.

5 Shave the cucumber into ribbons into the serving bowl using a Y-shaped peeler (discard the core). Drain the pickles and add to the bowl with the tofu and most of the herbs. Gently toss to coat. Garnish with remaining herbs and the crispy onions and serve.

PER SERVING 554cals, 15g protein, 25g fat (6g saturates), 65g carbs (23g total sugars), 6g fibre