Yam yai - thai \"chef's salad\"

1 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
Chinese lettuce (or other broad leafed veggie) to form a base for the salad bowl
½ cup Onion, sliced
½ cup Tomato wedges
½ cup Cucumber, sliced
½ cup Prik chi fa (Thai jalapenos), julienned
½ cup Broccoli florets, blanched
½ cup Bean sprouts
½ cup Lime juice
¼ cup Peanuts
2 tablespoons Light soy sauce
2 tablespoons [rice] vinegar or nam makham piag (tamarind juice)
2 tablespoons Nam tan paep (palm sugar)
1 tablespoon Prik ki nu daeng haeng (dried red chilis), ground
1 tablespoon Khao koor (toasted rice)

Directions

SALAD INGREDIENTS

DRESSING INGREDIENTS

Salads are extremely common in Thailand, accompanying most meals. However most of them are casual affaris, and most do not have a western style dressing; rather the diners use whichever of a variety of dips take their fancy. However a few 'formal' salads do exist, largely as accompaniments to formal dinners, and this one, which could be translated as "great salad" is a typical example.

The actual salad is not particularly important: any suitable mixture of veggies could be used, hence the more usual translation as chef's salad.

However a typical mixture is as follows: Salad Ingredients Method: Line a serving bowl with the lettuce leaves, then toss the other ingredients and place on the lettuce, garnish with cilantro/coriander leaves, lime leaves, thinly sliced shallots, and julienned spring onions.

Dressing Ingredients Method: In a dry skillet or wok toast the peanuts until light golden brown, allow to cool and crumble (a few sharp blows with the flat of a cleaver should suffice, and avvoid turning them into peanut butter, as the use of a food processor is inclined to).

Toast 2 tablespoons of uncooked long grain rice (either white or brown, to taste), and then when cool, grind to a coarse powder (khao koor).

Combine the ingredients to form the dressing, and place in a small bowl.

Serving: Thai salads are not served 'dressed', this being left to the diners. If available you could also add a few of the different Thai dips (nam prik kiga, nam prik kapi are suitable for vegetables, and can be adapted to vegetarian/vegan life styles without serious loss of authenticity).

Posted to CHILE-HEADS DIGEST V3 #170 Date: Thu, 28 Nov 1996 09:37:24 +0700 From: "Col. I.F. Khuntilanont-Philpott" <colonel@...>

Related recipes