Mash the garlic with sugar in a mortar and pestle to make a paste. Add a couple slices of red thai chili (birds eye chili) here if you want to add a bit of spice and mash well to incorporate into the paste.

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar garlic paste with vegan fish sauce and boiling water and stir to dissolve the sugar.

Add juice of half a lime, then set aside (you can refrigerate so it'll be cooler to dress the salad).

In a large bowl, combine julienned green mango, cucumber (I prefer to remove the seeds because otherwise its too wet), carrot, red onion, and halved vegan shrimp.

Pour half the sauce over the salad and toss well to mix. Taste for seasoning, and add more sauce if you think it should be saucier. You don't want it to be too wet, so adjust the amount based on how much veg you have.

Allow to sit in the fridge for at least 10 minutes to sit in the seasoning.

Serve with vegan shrimp crackers or toasted sesame rice paper (the banh trang me is more vegan friendly, I've only able to find banh phong chay a couple times since they normally have shrimp) and crushed roasted peanuts on top!