Elevating salads to their rightful place as stylish, healthy, satisfying dishes, The Well-Dressed Salad offers more than eighty recipes exploring exciting textures and zingy flavors. As well as putting a fresh spin on classic salads, such as Caesar salad, the book brings together unusual salad dishes from around the world where salads are an art form: the Mediterranean, North Africa, Asia and South America. The chapters are organized by ingredient, from beans, lentils and grains, leaves and greens, to vegetables, fruit, noodles and rice to meat, fish and poultry.
Thai Glass Noodles with Asian Herbs, Crispy Shallots, Fried Ginger Sticks and Chili Lime Dressing
Recipe from:
The Well Dressed Salad
by Jennifer Joyce, Photography by Sian Irvine Cookbook Heaven at
Recipelink.com
Glistening noodles with aromatic herbs, sweet and sour lime dressing and crispy fried shallots - pure bliss. Refreshing for summer lunch or as a light appetizer for an Asian dinner, this also makes a brilliant base for seared tuna slices, prawns (shrimp) or crab.
150 g/5 oz very thin glass (cellophane or mung bean) noodles
1 carrot, cut into julienne
1 medium red onion, finely diced
5 cm/2 inch piece of fresh root ginger, cut into thin julienne
1 large handful of fresh Thai sweet basil leaves or other basil leaves
1 handful of fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
15 fresh mint leaves
THAI CHILLI LIME DRESSING:
125 ml/4 fl oz/1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2 tsp sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 medium red chilli, de-seeded and chopped
2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
CRISPY SHALLOTS (recipe follows)
2 tbsp crushed salted peanuts or cashew nuts
FRIED GINGER STICKS (recipe follows) (optional)
Soak the noodles in boiling water for about 5 minutes or until al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water. Dry on a tea towel (dishtowel). Using a pair of scissors, cut the noodles into 6 inch lengths so that it is easier to mix. (The Chinese consider it bad luck to do this, but after doing this numerous times, nothing detrimental has happened to me!)
Place the noodles, carrot, onion, fresh ginger, basil, coriander (cilantro) and mint in a bowl
Pour all the dressing ingredients into screw-top jar, shake well and pour it over the salad. (Alternatively, crush the dressing ingredients in a mortar and pestle, adding the lime juice and fish sauce last.)
Arrange the salad on a large platter with the crispy shallots, crushed peanuts and fried ginger sticks, if using.
CRISPY SHALLOTS
600 ml/1 pint/2 1/2 cups groundnut (peanut) or vegetable oil
12 shallots, very thinly sliced
125 g/4 oz/1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tsp salt
Heat the oil in small to medium heavy saucepan.
Toss the shallots in the flour and shake off any excess. Test the tempeature of the oil with a small piece of coated shallot, if it sizzles dramatically when added to the oil, the oil is ready.
Using a wire scoop, add the shallots to the hot oil, in batches if necessary. Fry for about 3 minutes until golden. Drain on kitchen paper (paper towels) and sprinkle with salt.
The shallots can be prepared 3 hours before using.
FRIED GINGER STICKS
2.5 cm/1 inch piece of fresh root ginger, peeled
5 tbsp vegetable oil
Slice the ginger into very fine julienne.
Heat the oil in a medium saute pan. Add the ginger and fry until golden and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper (paper towels).
Make them in the morning and store in airtight container for use in the evening.
GET ORGANIZED The dressing, shallots and vegetables can be prepared the night before and stored in airtight containers. Do not add the onion until 2 hours before serving.
VARIATIONS Prawns (shrimp), crab, lobster, seared slices of tuna, shredded chicken, or seared fillet (tenderloin) of beef would all be tasty additions.
