Thai Glass Noodle Salad (Yum Woon Sen)

Method10 steps · about 35 min

1. 1

   Step 1: Soak the glass noodles in room temperature water for 7-10 minutes until soft and pliable. Once done, drain and cut them with scissors into 2-3 sections to shorten them. This will make it easier to mix and serve.

   Soak glass noodles · 10 minUses 1.4 oz dry glass noodles (aka "bean threads" or "bean vermicelli" see note 1) · water for soaking glass noodles

2. 2

   Step 2: Meanwhile, place the dried shrimp (1 Tablespoon) in a small heatproof bowl, cover the shrimp with room temp water then microwave on high for about 45-60 seconds. Let it sit for a few more minutes to cool slightly. Without a microwave, you can cover the dried shrimp with boiling water and let them sit for a few minutes.

   Warm dried shrimp soak · 1 minUses 1 Tablespoon dried shrimp (optional, see note 2) · separate water for softening optional dried shrimp

3. 3

   Step 3: Use a spoon to remove the dried shrimp from the water, leaving the water behind, and place the shrimp in a mortar and pestle and pound to break them up into bits and remove from the mortar. Without the M&P you can chop them with a knife.

   Uses optional dried shrimp softened and lifted out of soaking water

4. 4

   Step 4: Make the dressing: Chop off the leafy half of the cilantro sprigs and set aside, and chop the stems-only half into small chunks and place in the mortar and pestle along with the garlic (2 cloves) and chilies; pound into a paste. Add the palm sugar (1 Tablespoon) and pound until dissolved. Add the fish sauce (2 Tablespoons) and lime juice (3 Tablespoons) and stir to mix well.

   Uses stems from the 10 cilantro sprigs; reserve leaves for finishing · 2 cloves garlic · 1–3 Thai chilies · 1 Tablespoon palm sugar (finely chopped, packed) · 2 Tablespoons fish sauce · 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

5. 5

   Step 5: Place the tomato (1), onion, celery and dried shrimp into a large mixing bowl.

   Uses 1 medium tomato (cut into wedges) · ¼ cup julienned onion (any kind of onion is fine) · 1 stalk Chinese celery · optional softened shrimp pounded into bits

6. 6

   Step 6: Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the glass noodles and cook for 2 minutes. Remove them from the water with tongs (keep the water boiling) and place into a sieve to drain excess water; set aside.

   Cook Glass Noodles · 2 minUses water for cooking noodles, fresh shrimp and ground pork · soft glass noodles drained and cut into shorter sections

7. 7

   Step 7: Add the fresh shrimp (6) into the same pot of water and cook for 30 seconds or so, depending on the size, until they are cooked through. Use tongs to remove the shrimp and place them into the mixing bowl with the veggies.

   Cook fresh shrimp · 1 minUses 6 medium or large shrimp (peeled and deveined) · same pot of water retained after cooking noodles · tomato onion celery and optional pounded dried shrimp in mixing bowl

8. 8

   Step 8: Pour out the cooking water, leaving just enough water to cover the bottom, and return the pot back on the stove. Once the water boils, add the ground pork (3.5 oz) and the 1 tsp of fish sauce and stir until fully cooked. Remove from heat and use a slotted spoon to scoop the pork from the liquid and place into the mixing bowl. Then add about 1 tablespoon or so of the pork cooking liquid into the mixing bowl as well.

   Uses 3.5 oz ground pork (or ground chicken or turkey) · 1 tsp fish sauce (for seasoning the pork) · same pot water poured off except enough to cover bottom

9. 9

   Step 9: Add the glass noodles into the mixing bowl, pour the dressing over the noodles, and quickly toss to combine.

   Uses glass noodles cooked two minutes then thoroughly drained · pounded cilantro stems, garlic, chilli and palm sugar with two tablespoons fish sauce and lime · fresh shrimp cooked through and added to salad vegetables · fully cooked ground pork with about one tablespoon of its cooking liquid

10. 10

    Step 10: Roughly chop the leafy cilantro sprigs then toss them into the salad. Plate, and sprinkle with the peanuts. Serve immediately!

    Uses ¼ cup roasted peanuts (unsalted, roughly chopped) · noodles mixed with dressing, cooked proteins and vegetables · leafy halves of the original ten cilantro sprigs, reserved when stems were used for dressing