| Hemlock's Recipes Thai Salad Very boring vegetables transformed by the most amazing dressing on the planet |
 |
| Salad ingredients Beef, sliced (sirloin is ideal) Chopped seeded tomatoes Chopped cucumber Shredded lettuce Chopped Shallots (red onion will do) Optional salad ingredients: chopped celery (especially recommended), chopped green onion, raw bean sprouts, shredded carrot The dressing Lime juice Red hot chillis Salt Chopped coriander leaves (Chinese parsley/cilantro) Fish sauce (nam pla - soy sauce will do in an emergency) A bit of peanut oil (optional) Don't hold back on the quantities (though use about 1 part fish sauce for every 4 parts lime juice). That's fresh lime juice, not disgusting muck out of a lime-shaped plastic container. For each person, allow at least 3 limes' juice, 2-3 chillies, a generous pinch of salt and a fistful of coriander. Method Mash the chillis with a mortar and pestle (or put them in a strong plastic bag and wack them with a blunt instrument). Add lime juice, coriander, salt and fish sauce while doing this. I also put a bit of shallot in at this stage. You will end up with an extremely piquant red sauce. You can make extra dressing and use some as a marinade for the beef (let stand for 2 hours and discard marinade). Alternatively, you can just grill the beef straight. That done, chuck everything together and mix well. Serve with steamed rice or noodles. After the salad is eaten, drink the remains of the sauce for a unique endorphin-vitamin C-fish sauce-onion juice rush |
| "Yum!" Nuer ...or beef salad. There are many other types, but all will clear your nasal passages, prevent scurvy and taste brilliant. The secret is in the combination of the five (or more) powerful flavors of the dressing ingredients |
| Variations This also works with duck or chicken, and you can make an excellent mixed seafood version using fish, mussels and prawns. Best of all is squid. Another variant uses mint instead of coriander. This works especially well if you also add Thai basil leaves - by this time you have a "six-dimensional" dressing. You can also use coriander and mint together. You can go even further with the coriander version by introducing Thai basil, galangal (Thai sweet ginger), finely chopped lemon grass and sugar to the dressing, but by this stage you are dealing with up to nine very different flavors, and may encounter problems in maintaining a balance. Peanut sauce also appears with this sometimes. Keep it simple before experimenting.. The dressing is also an excellent accompaniment to grated unripe (green) papaya. Unlike the repulsive ripened fruit, green papaya has a tangy flavor and a crunchy consistency that enables it to serve as a vegetable. Add a few small dried shrimp in order to ward off vegetarians, if necessary. |
 |
 |
 |
 |