Salads From Around The World: Thai Salad
Photography by Elisa Watson for Nourish Magazine.
Here is another delicious salad from my contribution to the current Nourish Magazine. This salad is easy to make and is extremely flavoursome. It is the perfect dish to fool your friends that you're a Thai cooking prodigy and it is just something fun to serve up at the family dinner table. To me this salad is very inspired by a Pad Thai, and you will be able to taste those flavours coming through when you eat it! This recipe is gluten free, refined sugar free, vegan, dairy free and egg free. To check out the remaining salad recipes, remember to pick up a copy of Nourish Magazine at your local Coles, Woolworths and news agencies!
P.S. I hope you like chilli...
Ingredients
125g flat rice noodles
100g bean sprouts
4 spring onions
1 small cucumber
1 carrot
1 green chilli
1 red chilli
1/2 bunch coriander
1/2 cup chopped green beans
1/2 red capsicum
1/4 chinese cabbage
1/4 cup dry roast crushed peanuts
1 tbsp coconut oil
Dressing
1 tbsp tamarind paste
2 tbsp coconut sugar
1 kafir lime leaf
juice 1 lime
2 cloves garlic
1" knob ginger
1 stick lemon grass
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp olive oil
+ fried shallotts and extra chillii to serve
Method
First grab a small processor or blender and place in all dressing ingredients. Blitz until a smooth liquid has formed, adding extra olive oil as needed. Place to side.
Cook the flat rice noodles in a pot of boiling water for around 10 minutes, drain and place in a ice cold bowl of water to stop noodles from sticking together or over cooking.
Julienne the carrot, cucumber, cabbage and and capsicum and place in a wok with the green beans and fry for around 2 minutes in the coconut oil. We still want the vegetables to have a lot of crunch so avoid over cooking! Add into a salad bowl with the bean sprouts, chopped coriander, chopped chillis and sliced spring onions.
Drain the noodles of any excess liquid and throw into the bowl.
Place over the dressing and toss to combine all ingredients.
Top with the crushed peanuts, extra chopped chillies, coriander and fried shallots. Enjoy!