Piquant Shrimp Salad Recipe

The fish sauce dressing adds a superb flavor to the noodles and shrimps. This delicious Thai salad can be enjoyed warm or cold, and can also be served as an appetizer which will be enough for 6 people. This shrimp salad is easy to make but ensure that you are using only fresh shrimps. Try it during the weekend and your family will love it.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

200 g/7 oz rice vermicelli
8 baby corn cobs, halved
150 g/5 oz mangetouts (snow peas)
15 ml/1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2.5 cm/1 in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 fresh red or green chili, seeded and finely chopped
450 g/1 lb raw peeled tiger shrimps (jumbo shrimps)
4 spring onions (scallions), very thinly sliced
15 ml/1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
1 lemon grass stalk, white part only and thinly shredded

For the dressing:
15 ml/1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
15 ml/1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
5 ml/1 teaspoon soy sauce
45 ml/3 tablespoons groundnut (peanut) oil
5 ml/1 teaspoon sesame oil
30 ml/2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Method:
1. Put the rice vermicelli in a wide heatproof bowl, pour over boiling water and leave to soak for 10 minutes. Drain, refresh under cold water and drain well again. Tip into a large serving bowl and set aside until required.

2. Boil or steam the corn cobs and mangetouts for about 3 minutes, until tender but still crunchy. Refresh under cold running water and drain. Make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients in a screw-top jar. Close tightly and shake vigorously to combine.

3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add the garlic, ginger and red or green chili and cook for 1 minute. Add the tiger shrimps and toss over the heat for about 3 minutes, until they have just turned pink. Stir in the spring onions, corn cobs, mangetouts and sesame seeds, and toss lightly to mix.

4. Tip the contents of the pan or wok over the rice vermicelli. Pour the dressing on top and toss well. Sprinkle with lemon grass and serve, or chill for 1 hour before serving.