Fresh noodle salads: make one dish or a buffet with bright combinations from Southern California's Little Saigon

Sunset, March, 2007 by Margo True

AT HER PARENTS' HOUSE in Orange County, Ann Le tears tender leaves of mint, cilantro, and basil and scatters them over bowls of rice vermicelli. She's making the Vietnamese herb-noodle salad called bun, a dish much beloved here in Little Saigon--a 3-square-mile chunk of Westminster, California, that's home to the largest group of Vietnamese outside Vietnam. Bun is infinitely adaptable, a bed for everything from pork chops to braised eggplant. Today Le, a dimple-cheeked 29-year-old, has made three toppings: fat grilled shrimp with black pepper, green onions, and garlic; crisp-edged grilled lemon-grass beef; and cubes of warm tofu glazed with oyster sauce (for the recipes, turn the page). All are versions of favorites from her first book, The Little Saigon Cookbook: Vietnamese Cuisine and Culture in Southern California's Little Saigon (The Globe Pequot Press, 2006; $16), an homage to the neighborhood where she was raised.

INFO Visit www.sunset.com/littlesaigon for more about Le, her book, and Little Saigon.

Main recipe

Herb noodle salad (Bun)

Good with everything from beef to tofu.

PREP AND COOK TIME About 45 minutes

MAKES 4 servings

1/2 lb. rice vermicelli or mai fun
1 cup each loosely packed fresh mint, basil, and
    cilantro leaves or sprigs
1 piece (3 in.) cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded,
    and sliced into 1 1/2-in. matchsticks
1 cup fresh mung bean sprouts, rinsed
1 lime, cut in wedges
Your choice of toppings: Grilled Beef with Lemon
    Grass and Garlic, Peppery Grilled Shrimp,
    and/or Sauteed Tofu (recipes follow)
Garnishes: 2 green onions, thinly sliced; 1/4 cup
    Fried Sliced Garlic (recipe follows); 3 tbsp.
    crushed unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (recipe follows)

1. Boil vermicelli according to package instructions. Drain, rinse with cool water, put in a bowl, and cover with a towel.

2. Set out herbs, cucumber, sprouts, and lime wedges on a platter. Set out cooked toppings on platters. Serve garnishes and dipping sauce in small bowls.

3. Before serving, check noodles; if gummy, rinse again and drain. Guests assemble their own salads: first noodles; then herbs (loosely torn), cucumber, and sprouts; then toppings; then garnishes and a drizzle of lime and/or dipping sauce.

PER SERVING WITHOUT TOPPING 220 CAL., 4% (9 CAL.) FROM FAT; 6.1 G PROTEIN; 1 G FAT (0.1 G SAT.); 48 G CARBO (5.2 G FIBER); 16 MG SODIUM; 0 MG CHOL.

Toppings

Grilled beef with lemon grass and garlic (Bo nuong xa toi)

A classic; also works with steamed rice.

PREP AND COOK TIME 30 minutes, plus 2 hours to marinate

MAKES 4 servings

NOTES You can use a grill pan or broiler instead of a grill. (Broil onions first, about 10 in. from heat, and then beef, about 6 in. from heat.)

1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 tbsp. minced garlic (3 or 4 large cloves)
1 1/2 stalks lemon grass, outer layer peeled off
      and inner core minced (about 3 tbsp.)
3 tbsp. each fish sauce and olive oil
1 lb. beef tri-tip or round, sliced against the
      grain into 1/4-in. slices
2 yellow onions, peeled and quartered
2 tbsp. each loosely packed fresh cilantro sprigs
    and crushed unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

1. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together sugar, pepper, garlic, lemon grass, fish sauce, and 2 tbsp. olive oil. Add beef, toss to coat, and refrigerate 2 hours.

2. Rub remaining 1 tbsp. oil over onions. Prepare a gas or charcoal grill for medium-high heat (you can hold your hand 1 to 2 in. above grill level only 3 to 4 seconds). Brush grill with vegetable oil. Thread onions onto two 8-in. metal skewers. Lay onion skewers on grill and cook (close lid on gas grill) until softened, about 15 minutes, turning skewers every 5 minutes or so.

3. When onions are cooked halfway, lay beef slices on grill and cook (close lid on gas grill), turning once, 3 to 5 minutes.

4. Arrange beef and onions on a platter and garnish with cilantro and peanuts.

PER SERVING 428 CAL., 61% (261 CAL.) FROM FAT; 26 G PROTEIN; 29 G FAT (7.9 G SAT.); 16 G CARBO (2.3 G FIBER); 516 MG SODIUM; 74 MG CHOL.

Peppery grilled shrimp (Tom nuong toi xa ot)

Smoky grilled shrimp play well against the cooling herbs and noodles of the salad.

PREP AND COOK TIME 25 minutes, plus at least 15 minutes to marinate

MAKES 4 servings

NOTES Soak the skewers in water for at least 1/2 hour before grilling. You can use a grill pan or broiler instead of a grill.

2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh lemon grass
5 tbsp. minced garlic (about 10 large cloves)
1/2 tsp. Asian red chili sauce, such as Sriracha
3 tbsp. fish sauce
2 tsp. sugar
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tbsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled (leave tails intact)
     and deveined
6 wooden skewers (6 in. each), soaked in water
1/3 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, sliced
     into thin slivers

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together lemon grass, garlic, chili sauce, fish sauce, sugar, olive oil, lime juice, pepper, and green onions. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Let marinate 15 minutes at room temperature or up to 1 hour in the refrigerator.