Rice Vermicelli (Bún) with Ginger-Grapefruit Sauce - Recipe

Rice Vermicelli (Bún) with Ginger-Grapefruit Sauce
Vegan and gluten-free / Serves 4 / 45 minutes

• 8 ounces Vietnamese rice vermicelli noodles
• 1 cup shallot rings, sliced about 1/8" thick
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided
• 1 pound extra-firm tofu, cut into approximately 2" x 2" x 1/3" squares
• 1/4 cup sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
• 2-3 grapefruits
• juice of 2 limes (reserve zest from one)
• 2-4 tablespoons sugar (palm sugar if you have it)
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• salt
• 1 cup julienned carrot (use a mandoline if available)
• 1 cup julienned daikon radish (use a mandoline if available)
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 1 head romaine lettuce, sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 2 small hot chile peppers, thinly sliced
• 1 medium cucumber, seeded and diced
• 3 green onions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
• 1 ripe mango, diced
• 1 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves

1. Heat a pot of water to boiling, remove from the heat, add the rice noodles and let sit for ten minutes. Check the texture - they should be tender but definitely not mushy. Drain and reserve.
2. Cut the grapefruit into supremes, working over a bowl to catch the juice. Strain off the juice (reserving the supremes separately) and squeeze all of the leftover pieces of the grapefruit in with it. Add the lime juice, 2 tablespoons of sugar, ginger, soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of salt. Taste and adjust seasonings, remembering that it will need to be strongly flavored to play off of all the other ingredients. (You may end up with more grapefruit supremes than you need to serve the dish. Cook’s treat.)
3. Fry the shallot rings in 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until dark brown. Remove to paper towels and season liberally with salt. As they cool, they will become crispy.
4. Add the remaining oil and fry the tofu, working in batches as needed to get the squares brown on both sides. Drizzle with the sweet soy sauce (kecap manis) and continue frying for another 30 seconds so it can caramelize.
5. Combine the carrot, daikon, rice wine vinegar and sesame seeds and set aside to pickle a bit.
6. To assemble, divide the lettuce among 4 large bowls. Top each with a big handful of the rice noodles. Then top with an attractive arrangement of the remaining ingredients: tofu, grapefruit supremes, mango, carrot / daikon salad, chile pepper, cucumber and finally the shallot rings, green onion, cilantro and lime zest. You can either pour on the sauce yourself or divide into individual bowls for your guests to add as they see fit. Offer Sriracha-type hot sauce on the side.