Light Vietnamese Shrimp Salad

Two recipes in two weeks! I am on a roll. Only because I have not been feeling well so I am glued to the house. And I am currently on a cut to try to lose some fat. I am hoping that there are some muscles underneath all of it! We'll see! Therefore, I want to create some light and simple salads. I wanted to recreate this Asian salad I once had a wedding. Its definitely reminiscent of Vietnamese flavors - fish sauce, lime and lots of herbs!

Ingredients: 
1 package of Vermicelli noodles
1 lb of shrimp - shelled and deveined
2 cucumbers - cut thinly - like a matchstick
1 cup of iceberg lettuce - shredded
1 cup of shredded carrots
1/4 cup of mint
1/4 cup of cilantro
1/4 cup of bean sprouts (I was not able to get any)

Optional:
Jalapenos

Sauce:
1 cup of water
2 tbsp of sugar
1 clove of garlic - minced
1/4 cup of fish sauce
1/4 cup of lime juice
5 Thai chilies

Chop all your vegetables and herbs. Boil your noodles according to the package. Once the noodles are cooked, soak the noodles in water to remove any remaining starch from the rice noodles. Drain and set aside. Next, I do not feel the need to cook the shrimp in any special way - so I poached them quickly. You could fry them over high heat with some oil but I am trying to keep it light. :) For the sauce, I heat all the ingredients together on the stove and then cooled in the fridge. You can just mix and serve - without heating it up. I like to take the extra step of heating it all up. 

I like everything on the cooler side for this salad. Once everything has chilled for a bit, arrange the noodles and salad ingredients. Side of your sauce. Mix it up and ENJOY! 

I enjoyed this outside. Enjoying the last bits of the warmer weather. 

Thanks for reading!

XX

Kathy