Ingredients

Dressing:

¼ cup water, or more to taste
3 Tbs lime juice
3 Tbs fish sauce
3 Tbs brown sugar, or more to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp minced fresh ginger root
½ tsp Sriracha chile sauce

Salad:

1 (8 oz) pkg (linguine-width) rice noodles
2 cups thinly sliced Napa (Chinese) cabbage
1 ½ cups matchstick-cut carrots
8 oz grilled shrimp
1 cup bean sprouts
½ English cucumber, halved lengthwise and cut into thin slices
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 ⅔ Tbs chopped fresh mint
2 ⅔ Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
2 ⅔ Tbs chopped fresh basil
½ cup coarsely chopped peanuts

Directions

Step 1

Whisk water, lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and Sriracha together in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved.

Step 2

Bring a large pot of water to a full boil; remove from heat and soak rice noodles in the hot water for 1 minute. Stir to separate the noodles and continue soaking until the noodles are tender, about 3 minutes more. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water until cooled. Shake noodles in colander to drain as much water as possible.

Step 3

Mix noodles, cabbage, carrots, shrimp, bean sprouts, cucumber slices, green onions, mint, cilantro, and basil together in a large bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Top with chopped peanuts.

Tips:

Dressing can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 5 days.

You can use sambal oelek chile pepper sauce or red pepper flakes in place of Sriracha, if that better fits your tastes.

Any leftover grilled meat works well in this salad: shrimp, pork, or chicken are all great options.

The salad is very flexible; try adding julienned red or yellow pepper, pea pods, baby bok choy, or substitute sliced romaine lettuce for the cabbage.