Vietnamese Spicy Noodle Salad

Cook the noodles in boiling, salted water for 2 minutes. Drain, refresh in cold water and drain thoroughly. Set aside.

Put the noodles, cucumber, carrots, Nuoc Cham sauce, shallots and chillies (reserve a few for the garnish) into a large bowl and mix.

Serve on plates sprinkled with coriander and mint and the reserved chilli rings.

For the sauce
Put all the ingredients except the lemon juice into a pan and heat until very hot, but do not boil.

Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.

Stir in the lemon juice when the sauce is cold.