Bun Bo (Vietnamese rice noodle salad)

One of the best Vietnamese dishes to try, beyond the super-famous Pho soup. this salad exemplifies everything I love about Vietnamese cuisine. 
It's as spicy and enticing as all Asian cuisines tend to be, but unlike classic Chinese cuisine it tends to have many fresh ingredients added, along with more sour and herbal flavors. Japanese dishes also tend to have more fresh stuff in them, but they are purists when it comes to tastes so they prefer not to overcrowd the dishes with spices. 
Well, Vietnamese dishes have it all and they're the epitome of intense tastes: both sweet, sour, spicy, fried and fresh, noodle and liquid, herbal and spice. 

This delicious salad is the perfect thing to make when you happen to have some leftover nem rolls on hand. It features freshly cooked glazed shrimp, sliced nem rolls, rice noodles, fresh herbs and veggies, along with a tangy lime sauce and crunchy peanuts. You also have a bit of heat from a touch of red chili peppers, and the fish sauce also lends an extra explosion of umami that will leave you craving more.
Recipe source: David Lebovitz (mainly).

Last year: nothing.
Two years ago: nothing.
Three years ago: nothing.
Four years ago: Ants climbing a tree (Ma Yi Shang Shu) (Chinese).
Five years ago: Radish, smoked salmon and orange salad (raw).
Six years ago: Asparagus, mint and lemon risotto. 
Seven years ago: Elder-flower-rum cream tartelettes with raspberries.
Eight years ago: Salmon Smorrebrod (Danish), Upside-down banana cake with raisins and walnuts and Chinese-style pork sesame balls.



Ingredients (serves 2-3):
For the sauce:

• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 to 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (125ml) water
• 1 Thai bird’s eye chile minced, or 1 teaspoon minced red chiles (or to taste)
• optional: 1 small clove of garlic, peeled and minced

For the salad:

• 8 ounces (225g) thin rice noodles
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• Half a cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
• 8 to 12 ounces (225g to 340g) cooked meat, shrimp or tofu (I used shrimp)
• A handful of fresh mint, cilantro, or Thai basil, or a combination
• 1/3 cup (50g) roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
• optional: 4-5 fried spring rolls (nem)
• optional: fried shallots

Make the sauce in advance by mixing all the ingredients well until the sugar is dissolved. Taste and add more fish sauce if needed. You can also make it up to 1 day in advance if you keep it refrigerated and add the garlic only before using it.

Cook the rice noodles according to package instructions, then drain well and divide between serving bowls. Top each with carrots, cucumbers, and your protein of choice. Also sprinkle the chopped herbs over the tops of the salads.

If serving with nem rolls, fry them, then slice the warm rolls into bite-size pieces and arrange them around the noodles. Add fried shallots, if using, as well as the coarsely crushed peanuts, then serve with sauce on the side, letting people help themselves.

It's done, dig in! :)