Thai Noodle Salad with Herbs
By: Sheri Wetherell
Published: January 22, 2008

One of the things I love about Thai food is the gentle balance of spicy, sweet and sour flavors.  This is one of my favorite salads any time of the year. It's easy to make and is so crisp and fresh with it's mint, basil and spicy chili dressing.
Salad
Romaine lettuce, chopped in shreds
Julienned carrots
Green onions, thinly sliced
Chiffonade of  mint and Thai basil
Rice vermicelli noodles (the amount is up to you)
Dressing
Use the below amounts as a starting place, as you may find that you want more or less of an ingredient. You want balance, however, not one particular flavor overpowering the others.
3 T fish sauce
3 T lime juice
2 tsp sugar (I've used Splenda and that works just fine)
1 small Thai chili pepper, seeds removed (unless you want it melt-your-lips-off hot)
Toss greens and noodles together, and either mix in the dressing or serve on the side.
Another tasty salad similar to this is Laab (sometimes spelled Larb, but pronounced "lob"). Add the above dressing to the following ingredients:
Meat or fish (such as ground beef, chicken, pork or shrimp)
Romaine lettuce, chopped in shreds
Equal amounts of mint and cilantro (I like a healthy amount of each)
Green onions,thinly sliced
Red onions, thinly sliced
Toss and sprinkle approx. 2 T rice powder on top
Here's a nice step-by-step recipe for ground turkey laab from Jenny at Use Real Butter.  Her photos are lovely too!
Recommended cookbooks:
The Food of Thailand: Authentic Recipes from the Golden Kingdom
Another book with the same title, but much larger, more in-depth and coffee table worthy.
The Food of Thailand

Comments:
kate
January 24, 2008

Thai salads are always so refreshing and tantalizing. Once u have them u just cant stop. They are my most fav kind of salads ...specially love it with sprinkled chopped peanuts.