Have you ever been to Vietnam?

Nope? Me neither.

But I feel like I have after eating this bowl. (Okay, maybe saying that I feel like I’ve actually been to Vietnam after having eaten one meal is maybe a bit…asshole-ish. Talk about touristy, superficial, know-it-all attitude. It’s like those people who are like “I went to the Eiffel Tower one time as a kid and now I have a deep understanding of all French people and their collective psyche.” Pffft. Yeah whatever.)

But am I allowed to say, without being a total dick, that after eating this bowl I feel like I’ve at least dipped my toe in the vast and deep Vietnamese waters?

Honestly, something about the flavour of the dressing, combined with the crunch of the roasted nuts…it just really, really works. It’s like restaurant food. But at home. And yet, it’s also fucking easy, and very simple. It’s a very basic dish, that any asshole can make. But the flavours just all really go together. Like a monkey and a tiny accordion. Or a landlord and an eviction notice.

Let’s just say that that shit got scarfed down real quick. All that was left in that bowl was a fork and a wrung-out lime wedge. That lime had been used like a hose pipe in a heat wave. Or a hooker in a…No. My internal censor has just said no.

To keep it family-friendly, here’s a picture of the child version I made for my son without the dressing. He’s only three and not really into nuts, citrus and garlic just yet.

So do yourself a favour and go rustle this deliciousness up right now.

Noodle your way to happiness.