GLASS NOODLE, SHRIMP & VEGGIE BOWL

One of my dear friends, Becky, who grew up in Thailand introduced me to Thai cuisine. As she cooked me my first Thai meal, she explained that there is no actual Thai word for “salad,” but tossing fresh vegetables, proteins, and noodles together with a dressing is the commonplace equivalent, called “yam.” (I quickly learned to say, “Yum!” to yam.) This dish—glass noodles with shrimp, cilantro, Thai chilies, a bit of ground pork, fresh matchstick vegetables, and sugared chili-lime-garlic-fish sauce dressing—is a classic known as Yam Woon Sen.

It is very customizable; you can leave out the shrimp and pork if you like, or add in some fried tofu and more veggies, and eat it warm or cool. For the dressing, I like to add tamarind for extra pucker, and you can add a bit more sugar and less fish sauce if you prefer but be sure not to skip any of the basic ingredients. The spicy sweet/sour/salty flavor profile of the dressing is what makes this recipe sing.

Yam is a great use for the garden vegetables you’ve been nurturing all summer or those you find at the farmers market.

Serves: 2 to 3 people

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INGREDIENTS

For the glass noodle shrimp bowl:

• 2, 1.8 to 2-ounce bundles mung bean starch noodles (glass noodles)
• 8 to 10 large fresh shrimp, heads, tails, and shells removed, cleaned well
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 Thai red chili, minced (optional)
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, core, stem, and seeds discarded, finely diced
• 2 green onions, (roots discarded) cut into 1-inch lengths and slivered
• 1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves (save the stems for the dressing)
• 1/2 cup cucumber, peeled, cut into 2-inch matchsticks
• 1/2 cup carrot, peeled, cut into 2-inch matchsticks

For the dressing:

• 1/4 cup cilantro stems, snipped fine
• 1 small Thai red chili, minced (NOTE: depending on your heat tolerance, you can add an extra chili)
• 1 clove garlic, minced to make 1 tablespoon
• 1 1/2 tablespoon palm sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Fresh lime juice to make 1/4 cup
• 2 to 3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce (Fish sauce is funky deliciousness; add at least 2 tablespoons, more if you like)
• 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate

For garnish:

• 1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, finely chopped
• Lime wedges
• Extra cilantro leaves

METHOD:

Soak 2 of the 2-ounce glass noodle bundles in a bowl of warm water.

Prep and measure vegetables. Peel and clean shrimp. Use a marble or stone mortar and pestle to mash the cilantro stems, minced chili, garlic, salt, and palm sugar into a paste. Stir in lime juice, fish sauce, and tamarind concentrate. Move dressing to a large bowl. Set aside.

In a medium-sized pot, heat 4 cups of water mixed with 1 teaspoon salt to boiling over high heat. Add shrimp. Poach shrimp for a scant minute or two until pink and cooked firm. Using a slotted spoon, scoop shrimp into the dressing in the large bowl. Leave pot of water boiling on your stove. Add the pork to the pot and poach until no longer pink. Scoop pork out of the water and add to the shrimp and dressing. Leave pot of boiling water on stove—add more water if depleted. (Don’t worry about any bits of pork still in the water.) Add the soaked glass noodles to the boiling water; boil 2 minutes until plumped and translucent. Drain noodles in a colander. Add noodles to the shrimp/pork/dressing. Add matchstick vegetables and cilantro, pulling noodles apart in order to mix better. Transfer to serving bowls. Top with chopped peanuts. Garnish with additional sprinkling of cilantro leaves. Serve hot or at room temperature with lime wedges.