Hear me out. Vietnamese-style vermicelli bowls with tangy veggies and cold noodles is all I want to eat when it’s warm out. We made the Main Squeeze to accompany meals just like this one. We are lucky to have access to a mushroom cultivator here (who does awesome hour-long sales on Fridays, for you West Sonoma County folks), so we put together a gluten-free fried mushroom recipe for this newsletter. All summer long, we love this bun cha-inspired bowl of textures and flavors with sliced lemongrass-marinated grilled chicken or a fatty pork chop. Like all of our recipes, this one is flexible. It’s a salad! Assemble a big bowl of crunchy veggies and let the Main Squeeze take it over the top.
This recipe can be made vegetarian by subbing out the fish sauce for soy sauce in the nuoc cham dressing. Either way, you’ll have leftover sauce to dress veggies or better yet, a side of spring rolls, in a pinch. Usually we’d add Thai bird chiles to the nuoc cham, but the Main Squeeze provides all the heat you need here (and more).
Ingredients:
Nuoc cham
- ¼ c + 1 T fish sauce
- ¼ c fresh lime juice
- ¼ c rice vinegar
- 2 T sugar
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped or grated
Fried mushrooms
- ½ lb (~220 g) mixed mushrooms, like maitake, oyster, or black trumpets, torn into pieces
- 1 c buttermilk
- ¾ c (~120 g) rice flour
- ½ t salt
- Vegetable oil, for frying
For the salad
- 2-3 servings of Vietnamese-style rice vermicelli noodles
- Cabbage, thinly sliced
- Avocado, sliced
- Lettuce
- Pickled carrot and/or daikon radish
- Fresh herbs, like cilantro, scallions, and mint
- Kewpie mayo (optional)
- Big Spoon Sauce Co. Main Squeeze chili crisp
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients for the nuoc cham together in a small bowl. Adjust ingredients to taste. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, toss mushrooms in buttermilk, making sure to get buttermilk into all the nooks and crannies.
- Mix rice flour and salt together and then sprinkle the mixture over the mushrooms. Toss to coat.
- Use a pot with higher sides, like a dutch oven or a stock pot, to heat about 2 inches of oil to 340 degrees. You can also test the oil temp by dropping an individual mushroom in. If the oil sizzles rapidly, it’s ready.
- When the oil comes up to temp, carefully add about a third of the mushrooms into the pot. Fry for about 3 minutes, or until the edges turn golden brown. You may need to use a spatula to keep the mushrooms from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Remove mushrooms from the hot oil using a slotted spoon and let cool on a wire rack or a large strainer.
- Continue to fry the remaining mushrooms in 2 more batches. Set aside to cool. Reserve the fry oil for another use or safely discard.
- Cook your rice noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water, and toss with a bit of olive oil to help prevent the cooked noodles from sticking together. Portion out the noodles among 2-3 bowls.
- Pile the fresh vegetables, pickles, and herbs on top of the noodles.
- Divide up the fried mushrooms between the bowls.
- Pour 2-3 tablespoons of the nuoc cham dressing over the whole thing, or more to taste.
- Finish with a spoonful of Main Squeeze (a little bit goes a long way) and a drizzle of kewpie mayo, if desired, to cut the heat and add a little creaminess to the dressing.
- Grab a cold beverage and enjoy!
