Elsewhere in Asia: Vietnamese Shrimp, Cucumber, and Mint Salad
March 22nd, 2013
We had this lovely, summery salad at our friends Sita and Tsering’s house in Saigon. The recipe is an adaptation of one in a small Vietnamese recipe booklet called Các Món Goi Giàu Huong (Flavorful Salads) by Ky Thu. (Some of the diacritics are missing due to the font’s limitations.)
For the Salad:
1 lb cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 lb shrimp, cleaned, boiled, and shelled
1 cup (packed) fresh, cleaned mint leaves—or a combination of mint leaves and Asian basil leaves—roughly chopped or left whole
1/2 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
For the Dressing:
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp Vietnamese fish sauce
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 Thai chile, seeded, deveined, and minced
Prepare salad ingredients and toss them in a salad bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients, adjusting the seasonings to your taste. Dress the salad just before serving.
Photo: Josh Wand
