Yam Yai - Thai "Chef's Salad"

Categories: None

Serves: 1 Servings

Ingredients:

-----------------------------SALAD INGREDIENTS-----------------------------
Chinese lettuce (or other
-broad leafed veggie) to
-form a base for the salad
-bowl
1/2 c Onion, sliced
1/2 c Tomato wedges
1/2 c Cucumber, sliced
1/2 c Prik chi fa (Thai
-jalapenos), julienned
1/2 c Broccoli florets, blanched
1/2 c Bean sprouts

Instructions:
----------------------------DRESSING INGREDIENTS----------------------------
1/2 c Lime juice
1/4 c Peanuts
2 tb Light soy sauce
2 tb [rice] vinegar or nam makham
-piag (tamarind juice)
2 tb Nam tan paep (palm sugar)
1 tb Prik ki nu daeng haeng
-(dried red chilis), ground
1 tb Khao koor (toasted rice)

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"

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