Thai rice noodle salad (yum khanom jeen)

Make the dressing: stir together fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar, then add tamarind and soy sauce.

Roughly chop garlic and fry it in oil on low heat; as it turns golden brown, remove it and separate the garlic from the oil. Add the garlic oil to the dressing.

Grind roasted dried chilies with kaffir lime leaves and add to the dressing.

Cook the rice vermicelli, about 10 minutes, tasting until fully soft, not al dente; package times of five to seven minutes are too short.

Drain, run under cold water right away, and lay out on paper towels so extra liquid does not dilute the dressing.

Add the noodles to the dressing with lemongrass, green onions, cilantro including the stems, sawtooth coriander (or mint), carrots, long beans and dried shrimp, keeping some shrimp for garnish.

Toss, taste and add more chili if wanted.

Transfer to a bowl, making sure the beans and carrots come too, and top with the fried garlic, extra dried shrimp and crispy pork rind; leftover roast chicken, fried chicken or steak can go on top.