At the beginning, I wanted to make a Vietnamese style vermicelli salad, but the typical English weather didn’t approve. I desired a bowl of hot soup noodles.
Looked up online to see how do people make Vietnamese-style broth, I noticed a significant amount of meat and bones are required (also time), which I certainly didn’t want.
So I simplified the soup base and mainly relied on fish sauce, lime and coriander to bring out the flavour. It won’t be as rich as the traditional one, but it was pretty close! A stalk of lemongrass wold have helped, too!
Ingredients
Serves 2
- 2 vermicelli, soaked and drained
- 2 round shallots, sliced
- carrot, cut into batons
- cabbage, torn into smaller pieces
- small handful of frozen beans
- 6 frozen dumplings (optional)
- ¼ lime
- coriander for garnish
For the Broth Base
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, minced
- 3 dried shiitake, rehydrated
- 500 ml shiitake soaking water
- 500 ml water
- 1 tsp salted vegetable bouillon powder
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- ½ tbsp soy sauce
- ¼ lime
- large handful of coriander, chopped
- white pepper
How to Make
- Warm 1 tbsp of oil in a pan over medium-low heat, fry the shallots until golden and set aside. Meanwhile, slice the shiitakes.
- Throw in the ginger, garlic, and shiitakes to cook until fragrant. Add the shiitake soaking water, water, fish sauce, soy sauce, vegetable bouillon powder, coriander, and lime juice. Have a taste and adjust. Also add the frozen dumplings (if using), cook until they are floating (cooked through).
- Place the vermicelli in a bowl and pour in the broth. Garnish with fried shallots, coriander and lime wedge. Serve immediately.
