There have been several workings of this little salad on the menu over the years and it’s always popular – it reads like it tastes and does exactly what it says on the tin. Full of big flavours and zippy ingredients, it’s fresh, crisp and exciting to eat; lime, chilli, spring onion, garlic, coriander, cucumber… BOOM!
I’ve included noodles in this current version, mainly as a medium for the brown crab meat to adhere to. If I was making this at home I’d use whole-wheat soba noodles but at the bistro I prefer to use Udon over more authentic rice noodles, purely because they keep better if made in advance.
The dressing for the salad is typically Vietnamese; clean and vibrant, a balance of salty, sweet and sour, in the style of a nuoc cham dipping sauce. I thicken mine ever so slightly with a little cornflour to encourage it to cling to the salad ingredients rather than wash over them into a puddle beneath.
If fresh crab isn’t available don’t bother and instead substitute it for either prawns, or cold chicken torn into strips.
Ingredients
(serves 6 as a starter)
For the dressing
90ml fish sauce
45ml lime juice
45ml rice wine/white wine vinegar
45g soft light brown sugar
1 x level teaspoon cornflour, mixed with 2 teaspoons cold water
2 x medium red chillies
2 x cloves of garlic
For the salad
250g fresh beansprouts
1 x bunch spring onions, sliced
1 x small bunch of coriander, leaves only
1 x cucumber
125g noodles of your choice
200g crab meat, brown and white
½ teaspoon rice wine or white wine vinegar
Make the salad dressing first to allow it time to cool sufficiently. Put the first four ingredients in a small pan and bring slowly to a simmer. Add the mixed cornflour and allow to simmer very gently for a further minute, then remove from the heat and decant into a small bowl.
Chop the red chillies and the garlic and add to the dressing once it’s cooled to room temperature. (Adding it to a hot dressing will soften it and it’ll lose its crunch. The same reason we chop the garlic rather than crush it.)
Cook the noodles according to the pack instructions, usually 4 or 5 minutes in boiling water. Drain and refresh under cold running water and set to one side.
Separate the brown from the white crab meat. Set the white to one side. In a bowl season the brown and add ¼ teaspoon of white wine vinegar. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Add the noodles to the brown crab meat and combine thoroughly.
Use a potato peeler to shave long strips of cucumber. Toss together in a bowl with the spring onions, coriander leaves and beansprouts.
Arrange a small pile of noodles on each person’s plate, top with the salad, followed by the white crab meat. Finish with the dressing.