Sep 23, 2012
This has to rate in the top five meals to come out of my kitchen! I had no idea I could replicate the flavours of my favourite Vietnamese restaurant. I had my heart set on serving this with beef because of the photo, though the recipe calls for grilled shrimp, so I used an 8-oz top sirloin seasoned with garlic salt.
I followed the recipe almost exactly, omitting only the radish, basil and mint. I didn't have pickled carrots, so I shaved a carrot thinly, with a potato peeler, to match the size of the matchstick cucumbers. We only abandoned the herbs, which I'd planned to cut from the garden at the last minute, because the assembled plates (wouldn't fit in bowls) looked satisfying already, and we were starving!
It was delicious, leaving enough noodles, veggies and garnish to have for lunch the next day. One of the other reviews says this would be delicious without meat, and they are 100 percent correct!
I can't wait to make this again. My husband and I can't stop talking about how delicious it was and how unlike anything we've attempted to make at home. Maybe we'll try the grilled shrimp next time.
—Heatherbee
