This week's Off The Counter features a noodle dish my husband created for a bon voyage dinner. Good friends were moving to Paris. We wanted to serve a meal that was fresh, creative and interactive. Inspired by our favorite Vietnamese pho dish (from Minh Tri in San Francisco, which unfortunately is no longer open), this fresh and fragrant dish can please carnivores and vegetarians alike. Take a look at how this meal came together and how our table was set for our late night noodles. Ingredients and instructions below:
Ingredients
carrots, cucumbers, limes, mint, basil, cilantro, angel hair pasta or rice noodles, peanuts, boneless pork chops, bacon, rice vinegar, fish sauce, brown sugar.
Instructions
Crush peanuts, chop the herbs and thinly cut the carrots and cucumbers into separate bowls. Cook the pasta or rice noodles while grilling the pork chops and cooking the bacon. For the dressing mix equal parts rice vinegar, fish sauce and brown sugar. Then add lime juice, zest and Sriracha hot sauce to taste. Serve guests bowls of noodles and have them add ingredients and dressing per their preference.
A great wine pairing for this meal is Rodriguez Verdejo's 2010 "Basa" as recommended by our local wine shop Central Bottle.
Leftovers make great banh mi sandwiches the following day!
Stay tuned for Cocoon's first reader gift giveaway this week...