Vietnamese Salad - the best one

We have tried several versions of the delicious fresh salads we ate in Vietnam, bursting with hot, sweet and sour flavours all at once. (You can find two types in the Recipe Index)  On a beach outing one day, we had an especially memorable one, just put together there and then by our friends as part of what they called a picnic and we called a feast. This is as close as we can get to that special one; it is easy and you can adapt and vary it but there are some essential ingredients: crunch, chilli, herbs, nuts on top and mango too.

Vietnamese Salad -  the best

4 carrots grated
Half a white cabbage very finely sliced - or use white radish grated
Half a cucumber
A generous handful  of parsley and another one of coriander, finely chopped  
NB the Vietnamese use herbs in big sprays, they really don't chop them, so if you like just scatter yours!
A green mango - it is not easy to get a really ripe mango from our shops but it is harder to find a truly green one. The Vietnamese use a particular variety which we don't get here. So just check that it is as firm as possible
A handful of dried roasted peanuts

Dressing: 

A red chilli - hot or mild as you wish
4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 tbspns brown sugar
2 tbspns fish sauce
Juice of 1/2 lime
Black pepper

1. Mix the carrot and cabbage as you would for coleslaw and put them into a shallow dish
2. Peel the cucumber, cut into lengths, take out the seeds and slice into half moon shapes. Scatter on top
3. Sprinkle the herbs around the edge
4. Peel, then slice or grate the mango finely and put on top
5. Add the dressing well mixed. Taste it first and add more lime till it sings in the mouth.   If you are vegetarian, omit the fish sauce and use more lime juice
6. Crush the nuts roughly in a cloth and sprinkle over

This is best eaten fairly soon but the next day, though soggy, it is still delicious.