THAI GLASS NOODLE SALAD (YUM WOON SEN)

Recipe Notes:

• You could substitute pork mince with chicken or beef mince if you prefer.

• You could use any types of mint leaves that are available to you.

• Celery hearts are the central stalks of celery that are tender, sweet and most flavorful.

• Increase or decrease the quantity of chilies according to your heat tolerance. You could also retain their seeds if you prefer.

• Scoring the squids’ outer surfaces allow the dressing to penetrate their flesh. Score their inner surface instead if you prefer them to curl up.

• The natural fat from the pork mince helps to loosen the glass noodle when mix together. You could substitute pork mince with chicken mince is you prefer.

• Pouring the dressing onto the salad just before serving will preserve the freshness and crunchiness of the salad. Any left-over salad and dressing can be stored separately in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.

INGREDIENTS FOR THAI GLASS NOODLE SALAD

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(Serves 2-4 peoples)

✅️ 100 Gm Glass Noodle

✅️ 500 Gm Pork Mince

✅️ 8 Prawns

✅️ 3 Squid Tubes

✅️ ±25 Gm Dried Shrimp

✅️ 200 Gm Cherry Tomatoes

✅️ 1 Red Onions

✅️ ±120 Gm Celery Heart

✅️ ±40 Gm Coriander Leaves

✅️ ±40 Gm Mint Leaves

✅️ 3 Tbsp Fish Sauce

✅️ 3 Tbsp Sweet Chili Sauce

✅️ 6 Bird Eye Chilies

✅️ 2 Cloves Garlic

✅️ Lime Juice from 3 limes (±75 gm each)

✅️ Lime Zest from 3 limes

METHOD OF PREPARATION:

1. Stir fish sauce, lime juice, lime zest, sweet chili sauce, minced garlic and minced deseeded bird eye chilies in a bowl to mix well and set aside.

Soak the glass noodle in plain water and set aside to soften. Soak the dried shrimps in hot water and set aside to soften. Sliced the red onions, celery hearts and coriander leaves and transfer them into a large bowl. Pluck the mint leaves off their tough stems and discard the stems. Coarsely chop the mint leaves and transfer into the large bowl. Half the mini tomatoes and transfer into the large bowl.

2. Thinly slice the softened dried shrimps. Transfer them into a bowl and set aside. Insert a sharp knife into the squid tubes and cut through vertically. Flip the squids and cut through the other sides vertically. Then half each of the cut squid tube. Score shallow diagonal cuts in a crisscross pattern on the outer surface of each of the squid pieces. Cut the squid pieces again into bite size after cooking. Remove and discard the prawns head and their shells. Cut along the length of the prawns and remove their intestinal tract.

3. Add pork mince into a pot and stir with a wooden spatula over HIGH heat until meat juice starts to appear. Frequently stir the pork mince, breaking up any clumps with the wooden spatula. Once the meat juice appears, continue to stir until most of the liquid has evaporated. Switch OFF the heat and transfer the pork mince into a bowl. Add dried shrimps prepared earlier to the pot and stir over HIGH heat for 2mins. Transfer the dried shrimps into the bowl.

Heat 2 cups of plain water in the pot over HIGH heat and bring to a boil. Cook the glass noodle for 30secs. Quickly remove the glass noodle with a strainer and kitchen tongs. Transfer the glass noodle into a bowl. Cook the prawns in the boiling water for 1 to 2mins. Remove the prawns with the strainer and kitchen tongs and set aside. Cook the squids in the boiling water for 30secs or until they are cooked (their colour will turn creamy/milky). Be careful not to overcook. Remove the squids with the strainer and kitchen tongs and set aside.

4. Toss and turn the pork mince and dried shrimps with the glass noodle prepared earlier to mix thoroughly. Transfer them to the large bowl containing the sliced red onions, celery, coriander leaves, mint leaves and mini tomatoes prepared earlier. Toss and turn the mixture to mix thoroughly. Add the prawns and bite size squid prepared earlier into the bowl. Toss and turn the mixture to mix well.

5. Place the glass noodle salad into a serving dish. Top the salad with the salad dressing prepared earlier. Garnish with crushed peanut and sliced red chilies for that extra bite and flavors.

RECIPE PHOTO GALLERY