Tag: salad
Snow Fungus Salad
Snow Fungus Salad
Snow fungus are a type of white fungus that grows on trees in the winter. They come dried in packs that can be found in every Asian market. The snow fungus can be turned into the ultimate salad of flavors and textures. In addition to the fungus, the salad contains shallots, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, Chinese celery, mint, and cilantro. The salad also has 3 types of protein: Vietnamese ham roll, fermented sour pork sausage, and shrimp. While nothing is very difficult in making this salad, it has a large amount of prep work.
Ingredients
Snow Fungus Salad
- 4 dried white fungus soaked in water for 30 minutes; boiled for 5 minutes
- 1/2 English cucumber sliced
- 1 small carrot grated
- 2 shallots thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup mint
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1/2 Vietnamese ham roll julienned
- 1 fermented sour pork sausage sliced
- 1 cup small cooked shrimp
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup Chinese celery chopped
Dressing
- 1 cup water
- 2 oz palm sugar crushed
- 1/3 cup fish sauce
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 head pickled garlic sliced
- 2 tbsp pickled garlic juice
- 1 1/2 tbsp sambal
- 1/4 cup tamarind concentrate
- 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
- 1 tsp mushroom seasoning
- 2 tsp chili flakes
Instructions
- Place the crushed palm sugar in a small pot with a cup of water. Dissolve the sugar over medium heat, then turn off the heat.
- Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Set aside.
- Prep the rest of the ingredients.
- Mix all of the salad ingredients together. Pour over the dressing and toss.
Green Bean Salad
Green Bean Salad
This is a great way to enhance the flavor of green beans. The green beans get blanched for 3 minutes then shocked in an ice bath to stop the cooking. You want the green beans to still have a slight crunch to them, so frozen or canned won’t work for this recipe. Then toss the chilled green beans with chimichurri sauce and feta. Sprinkle cilantro, toasted pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds over the top.
Ingredients
- 1 lb green beans trimmed
- 1/2 cup chimichurri sauce
- 4 oz feta crumbled
- 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch the green beans for 3 minutes.
- Drain the green beans and place in an ice bath to stop them from cooking. Once cooled, drain and pat dry with paper towels.
- Toss the green beans with the chimichurri sauce and feta.
- In a dry skillet, toast the seeds for 2-3 minutes over medium heat until aromatic.
Lao Papaya Salad
Lao Papaya Salad
Many southeast Asian countries have their version of papaya salad. Laos is where it all originated from. Papaya salad has a certain funk to it that I can’t get enough of. The combination in the dressing of shrimp and crab paste, lime juice, fish sauce, tomatoes, and sugar, for some reason is very pleasing to me. The dressing is tossed with shredded green papaya, long beans, and Thai eggplant. Serve the papaya salad with sticky rice.
Equipment
- mortar and pestle
Ingredients
- 4 cups green papaya shredded
- 4 bird’s eye chilies finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves sliced
- 1/2 tsp shrimp paste
- 1/2 tsp crab paste
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 8 cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup long beans cut into 1” pieces
- 2 Thai eggplant sliced
Instructions
- Pound in the garlic, chilies, shrimp, and crab paste in a mortar with a pestle.
- Add in the fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar.
- Add in the cherry tomatoes. Lightly pound them until they release their juices.
- Toss the dressing with the shredded papaya, long beans, and Thai eggplant.
