1. **Soak noodles:** Soak glass noodles in warm water for 15 minutes until pliable. Drain and cut into shorter lengths.2. **Cook noodles:** Blanch noodles in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.3. **Cook meat:** Boil ground pork and shrimp in water until cooked (3-4 minutes). Drain.4. **Make dressing:** Whisk lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, garlic, and chilies until sugar dissolves.5. **Combine:** In a large bowl, combine noodles, meat, shrimp, onion, tomato, cilantro, and green onion.6. **Add dressing:** Pour dressing over and toss well to combine.7. **Serve:** Arrange lettuce leaves on a plate. Top with noodle salad. Garnish with peanuts.
Recipe Category: Salad
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Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad)
1. **Prepare papaya:** Peel the green papaya using a vegetable peeler. Using a sharp knife or mandoline, shred the papaya into thin, long strands. Place in a large bowl of cold water with ice cubes to keep crisp while preparing other ingredients.2. **Make dressing:** In a small bowl, combine lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, and tamarind juice (if using). Stir until sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust the balance of sour, salty, and sweet to your preference.3. **Pound aromatics:** Using a mortar and pestle (traditional method), pound the garlic and chilies into a rough paste. If you don’t have a mortar, mince finely.4. **Bruise vegetables:** Add long beans to the mortar and pound lightly to bruise them (or use the back of a knife). Add tomato halves and pound gently just until they release some juice but remain intact.5. **Combine in mortar:** Drain the papaya well and add to the mortar along with soaked dried shrimp and peanuts. If your mortar is small, you may need to transfer everything to a large mixing bowl.6. **Mix thoroughly:** Add the prepared dressing. Using two large spoons or salad tongs, toss and mix everything together vigorously for 1-2 minutes to ensure the dressing coats every strand and the flavors meld.7. **Taste and adjust:** Taste and adjust seasoning if needed – more lime for sourness, fish sauce for saltiness, or sugar for sweetness.8. **Serve immediately:** Transfer to a serving plate. Garnish with extra peanuts and Thai basil leaves if using. Serve immediately while fresh and crisp.
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Larb Gai (Minced Chicken Salad)
1. **Make toasted rice powder:** In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast 1/4 cup uncooked sticky rice, stirring constantly, until deep golden brown (about 8-10 minutes). Let cool completely, then grind to a coarse powder in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Set aside.2. **Cook chicken:** Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground chicken and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until fully cooked and no longer pink (5-7 minutes). If the mixture seems dry, add 2 tablespoons chicken stock or water.3. **Cool chicken:** Transfer cooked chicken to a large mixing bowl and let cool for 5 minutes (it should be warm, not hot).4. **Add aromatics:** To the warm chicken, add sliced shallots, chopped chilies, mint leaves, cilantro, and spring onions. Toss gently to combine.5. **Make dressing:** In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, fish sauce, and palm sugar until sugar dissolves.6. **Combine:** Pour dressing over the chicken mixture. Toss thoroughly to ensure everything is well coated.7. **Add rice powder:** Add about 3/4 of the toasted rice powder (reserve some for garnish). Toss again.8. **Taste and adjust:** Taste and adjust seasoning if needed – it should be bright, salty, sour, and herbal.9. **Serve:** Arrange lettuce or cabbage leaves on a platter. Spoon the larb into the leaves. Sprinkle with remaining rice powder. Serve immediately while warm or at room temperature.
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Glass Noodle Salad (Yum Woon Sen)
1. **Soak noodles:** Soak glass noodles in warm water for 15 minutes until pliable. Drain and cut into shorter lengths.2. **Cook noodles:** Blanch noodles in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.3. **Cook meat:** Boil ground pork and shrimp in water until cooked (3-4 minutes). Drain.4. **Make dressing:** Whisk lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, garlic, and chilies until sugar dissolves.5. **Combine:** In a large bowl, combine noodles, meat, shrimp, onion, tomato, cilantro, and green onion.6. **Add dressing:** Pour dressing over and toss well to combine.7. **Serve:** Arrange lettuce leaves on a plate. Top with noodle salad. Garnish with peanuts.
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Papaya Salad with Crab (Som Tum Poo)
1. **Prepare crab:** If using raw crab, clean thoroughly. Lightly pound in mortar.2. **Make dressing:** Pound garlic and chilies. Add tomatoes and beans, pound lightly.3. **Add crab:** Add crab and dried shrimp. Pound gently to combine.4. **Add seasonings:** Add fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, and tamarind. Mix well.5. **Add papaya:** Add shredded papaya and peanuts. Toss vigorously.6. **Taste and adjust:** Adjust seasoning if needed.7. **Serve:** Serve immediately with fresh vegetables.
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Indonesian Vegetable Salad with Peanut Dressing
1. Blanch Vegetables: Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Prepare ice bath. Blanch each vegetable separately: cabbage (1 min), carrots (1.5 min), green beans (2 min), bean sprouts (30 sec). Immediately transfer to ice bath to stop cooking, then drain. 2. Prepare Protein: Boil eggs 10 minutes, cool in cold water, peel, quarter. Pan-fry tofu and tempeh until golden, set aside. 3. Make Dressing: Blend peanuts, garlic, chilies, shrimp paste with 1/2 cup water until smooth. 4. Cook Dressing: Transfer paste to saucepan. Add remaining water, palm sugar, tamarind, salt. Cook over medium heat 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened to creamy consistency. Adjust seasoning. 5. Assemble: On large platter, arrange blanched vegetables, potato slices, cucumber, tofu, tempeh, and egg quarters in separate sections. 6. Serve: Pour warm peanut dressing over salad just before serving, or serve on the side. Top with fried shallots. Serve with emping crackers.