This isn't a difficult dish to make, but it's important for visual appeal that the vegetables are sliced to about the same size. Apart from the mung bean noodles and sesame dressing, there are no rules for the other ingredients to use, although you should always have a good mix of colours. I used carrot, cucumber, yellow bell pepper, white radish and pressed bean curd, but you can also add (or substitute) egg (make it into a thin omelette, then cut it into fine strands), red bell pepper (but don't use green because the flavour is too grassy), spinach (blanch it then squeeze out as much water as possible before roughly chopping it) and lightly blanched bean sprouts.
Mung bean noodle sheets are brittle and too large to fit into most bowls. But don’t break them up so they fit: just pour boiling water over them and, with a little time, they’ll be soft and pliable. You can then press them into the bowl so they’re fully submerged. The noodles need only to be soaked; there’s no need to cook them.
Put the mung bean noodle sheets into a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let them slowly soften in the heat and water until they are submerged. Add more boiling water, if needed. If there are some thick, tough parts that don’t soften, tear them off and discard them.
While the noodles are soaking, prepare the ingredients. Cut the top and bottom off the yellow bell pepper, then slice it in half and remove the core and seeds. Cut the pepper into thin strips. Cut the white radish, carrot and cucumbers into pieces about the same size as the bell pepper pieces. Lay the bean curd on the cutting board. Slicing parallel to the cutting board, cut the bean curd into three or four layers. Cut the bean curd into thin strips
Mince the garlic clove then add it to the sesame paste and mix with the soy sauces, rice vinegar and sesame oil. Mix in chilli oil to taste then add enough hot water to thin out the sauce slightly. Check the consistency by dipping one of the bean-curd strips into it – it should lightly coat the bean curd. Taste the sauce and correct the seasonings, if needed.
. Drain the mung bean noodle sheets then stack them on a cutting board and cut into strips 1cm )7/16in) wide. Pile them in the centre of a serving plate. Lay the vegetables in separate stacks around the noodles. Finely julienne the spring onion and lay the pieces over the noodles, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with the dressing on the side. Pour it over the ingredients and mix well just before eating.