Fresh Thai Noodle Bowl

I don't understand the reviewer who called this bland.  The secret is, of course, is to use fresh herbs.  Love the idea of using lemon grass - will definitely do that next time.  Lime leaves would also work well.  The only variation I made today was to use chicken broth.  But this is vegan if using veggie broth.  I had this for lunch but if serving for dinner would add a protein (chicken, shrimp, ground pork) for a heartier dish.

I absolutely loved this dish! I added the carrots and pepper (also used green pepper and omitted the cucumber) and cooked them the last 5 minutes the broth was cooking. I used chicken broth but it would probably also work with a touch of fish sauce thrown into the veggie broth. Next time I will use broccoli and sesame seeds. I felt like I was in a restaurant!

Easy to  make and had a delicious leftovers.  Look forward to adapting

What I like about this dish is it's flexibility & adaptability. We didn't have exactly the right vegetables, but it worked just the same with cucumber, radishes, and carrots. We also had lemongrass on hand and threw that in the broth along with the ginger & garlic, which I'd highly recommend (just don't forget to pull the stalks out before eating). We let the broth go a little longer than recommended (15+ mins) to help the flavors steep more. Liked that the veggies stayed so crunchy. After a few bites, we decided we want it to be spicier, so added some sambal oelek. Versatile, adaptable dish to use what you have on-hand.

The "secret" to this type of soup is to pair a flavorful broth with the fresh vegetables and herbs.  Generic vegetable broth with some garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and (as a sprinkle on top condiment), chili oil - just doesn't really cut it.  The preparation order also needs the broth to be really hot to bring the noodles and vegetables up to a decent temperature and not a room temperature.  So this just turns out to be somewhat warmed raw vegetables on noodles with not much else.