happygowendy:

THAI-FLAVOR COLD NOODLE SALAD

i hesitate to call this thai because, well, the extent of my knowledge of thai food is red curry and papaya salad. but i can safely say this is thai-flavored!

got the inspiration for this from a night market food stand in taiwan. on weekend evenings, my family and i would browse our neighborhood night market—how awesome is that, that i can say i’m going to leisurely take a stroll in our “neighborhood mecca of delicious, cheap, and prepared on-spot food”? our go-to stop was a thai papaya salad cart, manned by a lady in a red apron who would mix fresh papaya salad by the order in an authentic-looking wooden bowl. 

i absolutely love the spicy/sour combination of that papaya salad, and after watching this preparation a few times, i started to catch on to what was in it, and decided to try it out on my own with a few customizations. 

the noodles: green bean or mung bean thread noodles. these are so very cheap and readily available at any asian grocery market. make sure to purchase the thicker width ones; the thinner ones will clump and are more difficult to mix. cook these as instructed on the package. after they are cooked, drain and run with cold water until cool. 

the sauce: one part fish sauce. two parts lime juice. one part vinegar. a dash of soy sauce, chili oil (cayenne pepper works too, actually), and two spoonfuls of peanut/sesame paste (you can also try peanut butter. i’m willing to bet that wouldn’t be so bad.) mix vigorously and pour over noodles.

the toppings: minced garlic (just a teensy bit), crumbled peanuts (didn’t have them on hand in photos, but were fantastic the second time i tried making this dish), chopped cilantro (think it’s better alone with cilantro; pictures above depict green onion.) chop a wedge of lime and squeeze over the whole thing before eating.

mix everything, sqeeze lime, and nom!