Cherry Tomatoes
Shane and I were at our bible study group’s pot luck dinner last night and I came back with a bag full of red and cherry tomatoes. Our friend, Jan brought these tomatoes from her garden to share with everyone. The cherry tomatoes are like candies. They are sweet and perfect for the fusion Thai rice vermicelli salad I am making for lunch today.
Why a Thai Fusion Recipe?
There had been times when I was asked why a Thai fusion recipe? My answers are always because #1, some of the ingredients are hard to find in the Asian grocery store where I live. #2, some of the ingredients used are not suitable for my stomach or stomachs of guests I’m cooking the food for. Additionally, I am not willing to pay so much for a frozen sprig of leaves or chilis when I can use substitutions for less. The ingredients I often used can easily be found in any grocery store nearby. However, if you are in an Asian grocery store you should grab a bottle of frozen minced lemongrass. This ingredient is essential in many Thai food recipes.
Fusion Thai Rice Vermicelli Salad
I love summer and am so blessed to have friends who share vegetables harvest from their gardens. This salad is so refreshing and versatile. You can add any vegetables really and as always, lots of fresh herbs like spring onions, cilantro and mints. Today’s recipe is made out of ingredients I find in the kitchen and pantry. I am using rice vermicelli. It is made out of ground rice and is also known as rice sticks. Do not mistake it with glass noodles although if you have it, that’s fine too. I’m using prawns with the salad but you can always change it to shredded or minced chicken breast. This easy peasy recipe is quick to make ahead of time.
Ingredients for This Recipe:
An authentic version will include fish sauce, palm sugar, bird eye chilis and roasted peanuts not found in my ingredients for this recipe. This recipe is for 2 people as main course. We eat light. 🙂
- 1 flat piece of Rice Vermicelli. (I use the Wai Wai brand)
- 10 pieces of Prawns or more
- Low sodium soy sauce or salt to taste
- 1 fresh lemon juice or use 3 tablespoons of the squirt lemon bottle
- 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar or corn syrup
- 2 garlic cloves
- cayenne pepper to taste (you can also use chili flakes)
- 1 tablespoon of minced lemongrass (you can also use grated lemon skin)
- 1/8 sized sweet onion sliced thinly (you can also use shallots or red onion)
- 1 cup of cilantro (chopped coarsely)
- 1 cup of mint leaves (chopped coarsely)
- 1 cup or a handful of cherry tomatoes (cut into halves)
- 1 cup of cucumber (Julienne or cut into thin strips)
- 1/2 cup roasted cashew nuts
Step by Step Preparation:
- Add some water into a medium sized pot and bring it to a boil. Add prawns and let it simmer for 1 – 2 minutes, turning them frequently to make sure they are cooked. Remove prawns from pot and set aside.
- Using the same water, add the vermicelli rice noodle. Press down to make sure the noodle is fully submerged. Let simmer for 1 minute and then drain the noodles from the pot. Keep a cup of the water. When cool, you can use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the noodles in half. I like mine with long strands so I don’t cut the noodle.
- Use a mortar and pestle to pound the garlic cloves until fine. Then a few cashew nuts to make into a paste. Next add minced lemongrass and some stems of cilantro and just grind the paste together.
- Pour the paste into a mixing bowl. Add sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Stir until sugar melts.
- Add tomatoes, cucumber and sweet onion into the mixture and stir.
- Pour the rice vermicelli noodle into the bowl and mixed well. Add prawns and the rest of the herbs. Check the taste of the mixture and adjust according to your taste buds. If salad is too dry, add the cup of reserved water.
- Serve on a plate and garnish with a sprig of mint leaves and cashew nuts.
How to Achieve a Successful Recipe
Tips on how to achieve a successful recipe for Thai salad is to ensure the seasoning is to your taste buds. Easy isn’t it? My taste buds for this Thai salad should have a combination of sweet, sour and spicy. The authentic version will use more soy sauce to create a salty tang to the salad. I use Himalayan salt instead because soy sauce sometimes does a number on me. Regardless, follow this recipe but have your own version in mind. This is why it is called a fusion recipe.
This is my first recipe post. If you make this salad, do post a comment on my Facebook page. I love to hear from you. I will add more recipes in Easy Peasy Recipe section in the near future.