| Vietnamese Herb and Salad plate
Typically used to accompany other things, such as cha gio.
Whatever you have or can get of:
Asian or sweet basil leaves
Mint leaves
Coriander sprigs (aka cilantro)
Leaf lettuce (whatever) leaves.
Small scallions, trimmed
small lime wedges
bird chiles or serrano chiles, whole or minced as appropriate. (unless you're tougher than I am, I suggest minced serrano chiles); if you mince bird chiles, use gloves.
Cucumber slices or chunks
Bean sprouts, raw or blanched and drained
Put it all on a plate (or plates) or in shallow bowls.
Don't worry if you don't have something. But if you want to use it with cha gio, make sure you have plenty of lettuce leaves.
This is also good with almost any vietnamese meal; you take a few bites of whatever hot cooked food you're eating, then you take a bite of some of this nice fresh aromatic stuff.
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