This recipe came with our CSA Newsletter a few weeks ago. Bun bowls are one of our favorite dishes at Vietnamese restaurants, but we had never tried making one ourselves. The recipe was easy and delicious (especially with a squirt of sriracha). You can easily substitute or add other vegetables (ours included some shredded kale).

Salad:

• 8 ounces thin rice noodles (roughly the width of linguine)
• 1 ½ cups cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2–3 medium carrots, shredded or cut into matchsticks
• 1 large or 2–3 medium cucumbers, halved, seeded, and thinly sliced
• 1 cup chopped fresh herbs, preferably a combination of basil, cilantro, and mint
• 16 ounces cooked tofu, chicken, or shrimp, cut or torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup roasted, salted peanuts or toasted almonds, coarsely chopped

Dressing:

• â…“ cup fish sauce
• â…“ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• ¼ cup light brown sugar, plus more to taste
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
• ½ to 1 fresh jalapeño, minced

1. To prepare the dressing, combine the fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, garlic, and the jalapeño. Whisk well. Set aside. (Note: The dressing will store in the refrigerator for 3 days to a week.)
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the rice noodles, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes (or according to package instructions), until tender but not mushy. Immediately drain the noodles into a colander, and rinse them well with cold water to cool them. Shake the colander to drain away excess water.
3. When the noodles are well-drained, put them in a large bowl along with the vegetables, herbs and tofu or meat. Spoon dressing over the entire mixture and toss well to combine.
4. Serve with chopped peanuts or almonds on top.

Recipe adapted from Food52.com.