Thai Spring Roll Salad with Peanut Sauce Dressing

This is the salad to go with the Thai Turkey Dinner. The shopping list is here in yesterday's post.

But here it is again so you don't have to go looking.

1 pound large prawns-peeled

Napa Cabbage

Green leaf lettuce

Mung bean sprouts

carrots

mint

cilantro

Thai Basil


For the dressing,

1/2 cup natural chunky peanut butter

1 tbsp peanut oil

1/4 cup onion, finely diced

1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

1 garlic clove, diced

1 tbsp fish sauce

3/4 cup Chicken stock

1 tsp Red Curry Paste


1 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce


8-12 limes, juiced

Preparation:

It's best to make the dressing ahead, it refrigerates quite well for a day or two and only needs to be returned to room temperature to pour.

Heat the oil in a saucepan over high heat. Saute the onion, ginger and garlic for 1 minute until soft.

Add the fish sauce, chicken stock, curry paste, hoisin sauce and lime juice. Simmer on medium heat until the chicken stock is warm. Turn off the heat and whisk in the peanut butter until it is melted. You only want the peanut butter to be warm enough to mix, you don't want to cook or it will turn into a greasy lump. Learn from my mistake, don't do this.

You want it to be thin enough to pour so if it is still too thick whisk in some more water or broth. It with thicken when cool, but pour again when brought back to room temperature.

For the salad:

Rough cut the cabbage, tear the butter leaf lettuce. and shred the carrot. Add the bean sprouts, and leaves from the basil, mint, and cilantro. You can't really over do the fresh herbs, they are what makes this salad so very interesting.

As I mentioned yesterday, you will flash cook the prawns in the turkey gravy and let cool. (If you aren't making Thai turkey, you can substitute tom yum paste, red curry, tamarind water, and kecap manis for a shrimp marinade.) When you are ready to serve the salad scatter the prawns on top and either serve with dressing on the side, or stir it all in before serving. That is all. Prepare to listen to every one enjoy their salad.

Tomorrow, dessert of black rice pudding, and how to make Thai iced tea.