By Diana Lam

Contributing Writer

Bun Tham Bi is a Vietnamese noodle salad that is a lunch dish. It combines noodles, minced vegetables, and coconut sauce with fish sauce for a distinctive taste that is achieved through the collaboration. It is easily made and requires more preparation than cooking. The preparation of the Vietnamese noodle salad requires separate preparation of individual parts and is assembled at the end. Below are the ingredients and instructions of cooking this dish.

Ingredients:

-Fish sauce

-2 limes

-1 cup of oil

-1 package of rice noodles (white noodles)

-1 can of coconut milk

-1 package of Vietnamese pork roll

-1 package of shredded pork skin (bi)

-1 bulb of lettuce

-1 large cucumber

-8 prawns

-1 package of green onions

-1 garlic head

-1 tablespoon of sugar

-1 tablespoon of salt

Method:

1. Boil white noodles until fully-cooked. Add a pinch of salt in boiling water before placing white noodles. Follow package instructions. Drain noodles and set aside.

2. Mince garlic, and set aside in a bowl.

3. Slice the cucumber, lettuce, and pork into strips and then set aside.

4. Cut limes into slices and place in a separate bowl.

5. In another bowl, add lettuce and cucumber. Then squeeze half a lime into a bowl.  Mix and set aside.

6. In another large bowl, add one cup of fish sauce with: a pinch of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of sugar, ½ lime, 2 cups of water. Mix until sugar is dissolved. This is considered the dressing of the salad. (Optional: add chili peppers for spice)

7. Then in a pan add oil and minced garlic, fry the garlic on medium high heat until golden. Caution: don’t burn the garlic

8. Then in a small pan chop green onions and add oil. Cook for 1.5 minutes for the green onions to be flavored in oil. Do not fry green onions. Once done, place aside.

9. Wash, peel and devein the prawns. In a pan add oil, some minced garlic and the prawns. When prawns are half-way cooked, add 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, and continue to cook until prawns fully-cooked. Set aside.

10. In a small pan, heat coconut milk until relatively condensed on medium-low heat.

11. Assembly: In a bowl add rice noodles at the bottom, cover half the noodle surface with sliced lettuce, and the other half with shredded pork. Place 2-3 prawns on top. Pour fish sauce, and then coconut milk. Top the bowl with green onion oil.

12. To eat: Mix the noodles and toppings. Then….ENJOY.