Hot Weather Cooking: Vietnamese cold noodle salad

This one turned out really well, and keeps well even after several days. The noodles don't get soggy, clumpy, or water-logged! The only heat involved is boiling the noodles for all of one minute.

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1 pound thin rice noodles

a bunch of cilantro, chopped

ground peanuts (I used about half a pound, which is a lot)

shredded carrots (I used 1 big one)

2 scallion stalks, sliced

any combination of the following for the dressing:

rice vinegar - I used quarter cup

fish sauce - I used whatever was left in my bottle, about 1 tbsp

lime juice - I used the juice of two limes

sugar - I just used a couple tsps

salt - 1/4 tsp

dried red pepper flakes - a few sprinklings

There are a lot of recipes out there that suggest different proportions of the dressing - I looked at Gourmet magazine first but then just used whatever I had on hand, plus I know I don't like things too sweet.

Soak the noodles in hot water, for 10 minutes. Bring a pot of water to boil. Meanwhile, chop up the cilantro, shred the carrots, slice the scallions, and grind the peanuts. Put everything in a big mixing bowl. Mix together the dressing in a small bowl.

Then boil the noodles for 1 minute, drain and rinse in cold water. Dump the noodles into the mixing bowl, then pour in the dressing. Toss, and you're done!