The picture above is the prettified version before everything is lumped together in a bowl and mixed together. The result – a flavor explosion! This one takes a little prep work but is absolutely worth the effort. On the plate above you’ll find:
- Pickled radish and carrots. Thinly sliced and left in a mix of rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, salt, sugar and chilli flakes overnight.
- Fresh cut mint, green onions and cucumber
- Ground roasted peanuts
- Sliced jicama spiked with a little lime juice – daikon is more traditional but we’re big fans of jicama’s fruity notes
- Jasmine rice
The sauce is what binds the whole plate together and I use:
- 4 cloves crushed garlic
- 4 tablespoons sambal chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons fish sauce
- 6 tablespoons lime juice (about three fresh limes)
- 4 tablespoons vegetable/canola oil
Mix the above ingredients well and there’s plenty for 3-4 servings. For a 100% vegan dish you can omit the fish sauce, but I really do love the funky punch and extra dimension it adds. You can also cut down on the oil too if you’re worried about the calories there.
Lastly, I love to make Vietnamese style meatballs. In the above recipe I used the Lightlife Plant Based Ground meat, which I find makes really solid meatballs. Into the deforested Lightlife I add:
- soy sauce
- fish sauce
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- freshly cut mint
Again, you can omit the fish sauce and the recipe is 100% vegan friendly.