Recipe - Vietnamese Spring Noodle Salad

Water for boiling
One half pound Quarter inch rice sticks
(imported from Thailand)*
2 cup Fresh snow peas; trimmed
16 md Shrimp; shelled
1 Clove garlic; minced
1 Shallot; minced
2/3 cup Fresh lime juice
One half cup Fish sauce*
One half cup Water
4 tablespoon Sugar
One half teaspoon Red pepper flakes
2 Bibb lettuce heads; leaves
separated, rinsed and
patted dry
3 Carrots; peeled and grated
3 cup Fresh mung bean sprouts
1 cup Diced cucumber
2 Scallions; trimmed and
thinly cut or sliced up
1 cup Fresh mint leaves
One fourth cup Fresh cilantro; roughly
chopped; One fourth to One half cup

* Available in Asian grocery stores

Bring one large pot and one mediumsize pot of water to a boil. Drop the
snow peas into the mediumsize pot and cook for about 10 seconds (they will
turn bright green). Remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and rinse
under cold water.

When the water in the mediumsize pot has returned to a boil, add the
shrimp and cook for 2 minutes, or until opaque. Drain, and rinse shrimp
under cold water. Set aside.

Add the rice noodles to the large pot of boiling water. Boil for 45
minutes, drain, and rinse under cold water.

In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, shallot, lime juice, fish
sauce, One half cup water, sugar, and pepper flakes until the sugar is
dissolved. Divide the dressing into four small bowls.

Pile the lettuce leaf "cups" in the center of a large platter. Surround the
lettuce with separate mounds of carrot, bean sprouts, cucumber, scallion,
mint. cilantro, snow peas, noodles, and shrimp.

Give each person a plate upon which to put a lettuce leaf cup. Fill each
lettuce cup with a tiny bit of ingredient, drizzle with the dressing, and
roll up in the shape of a cylinder.

Serves 46. 289 calories per serving; 5% calories from fat; 2g total fat;
1g saturated fat; 35 mg cholesterol; 14g protein; 57g carbohydrates; 805 mg
sodium; 5g fiber.

"MealMasterized" by Mary Ann Young from June 1995 issue of _Walking_ by
food writer Victoria Abbott Riccardi.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini