Nyob Zoo & Happy Summer All!
What’s more perfect than a refreshing salad on a hot day? Glass noodle salad! This salad can be seen & made in Thailand & Laos. In Thailand, this dish is called Yum Woon Sen. It’s sweet, sour, spicy and full of fresh herbs and vegetables. Everyone does it differently and add their own twist/toppings to it. Today, I wanted to show you how I like to make it for my family and how you can see most Hmong people make it for special events. One of the many great things about salads are the endless toppings you can add. This one doesn’t disappoint so give it a try and enjoy!
Main Ingredients
Glass noodles! Also known as bean thread noodles, mung bean noodles, cellophane noodles, or clear vermicelli noodles. It’s gluten free and usually made out of starches: Potato starch and mung bean starch. Glass noodles cooks fast and are commonly used in a lot of Asian dishes. You can see it being used in salads, stir fry, soup, fillings, and the list goes on.
Most bean thread noodles comes in individual bundles
Other ingredients and topping
Snow fungus: Mostly used in Chinese cuisine, you can see it in salads, soup, stir fry, or medical purposes. It doesn’t have much flavor. I like to use it for the texture. It’s slightly crunchy and soaks up dressing or any kind of broth well.
The proteins
Nam sausage: A sour & fermented pork sausage that is commonly used in Southeast Asia. It can be eaten as is, or be put into salads etc.
Shrimp: Poached or boiled shrimp
Vietnamese pork roll also known as Chả lụa. It’s a Vietnamese style ham made of pork. It’s basically ground pork mixed with seasonings and other spices blended until it’s super fine and then steams into loafs or logs. It’s used in sandwiches, salads, or as is. You can find it at most Asian grocery store at the freezer section or if you’re lucky, some vendors will make it fresh.
Herbs & vegetables
You can choose and pick what you like. Here are some of the herbs and vegetables I like to use: Cucumbers, Chinese celery, shredded carrots, fresh mint, cilantro, shallots, and cherry tomatoes.
Don’t forget the roasted peanuts
The dressing
A little sweet, sour, and spicy
Take a look at the sauces/ingredients I used for the dressing
Mix everything together and enjoy the day it’s made. Super refreshing and very delightful on a nice summer day 🙂
YUM!
Enjoy!
-Cindy (C.HerCreations)
Ingredients
- ---DRESSING---
- 1 cup water (250ml)
- 2 oz crushed palm sugar (56g)
- 1/3 cup fish sauce (104g)
- 1/4 cup lime juice (58g)
- 2 Tbsp pickled garlic juice (25g)
- 2 whole pickled garlic bulb (minced)
- 2 Tbsp sambal (Huy Fong Foods kind) (38g)
- 1/3 cup Tamarind concentrate (75g)
- 2 Tbsp sweet chili sauce (51g)
- 1 tsp mushroom seasoning (3g)
- 2 tsp ground Thai chili flakes (5g) or fresh 3-4 fresh Thai chili
- ---FOR THE SALAD---
- 4 bundle of dried bean thread noodles (217g dried weight)
- 2 dried white fungus [49g dried weight] (soaked, cooked, trimmed, and cut into bite size pieces)
- 2 Persian cucumbers (sliced)
- 1/2 cup Shredded carrots (~1 small carrot)
- 1/3- 1/2 cup Fresh Mint
- 1/2 cup Cilantro (chopped)
- 2 Shallots (sliced)
- 1/2 Vietnamese Ham roll (sliced)
- 1 fermented sour pork (sliced)
- 1 cup boiled/poached shrimp (about 15-20 shrimp sliced and cleaned well)
- 1-2 cups sliced cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup Chinese Celery (Chopped)
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Make the dressing: In a pot, add the crushed palm sugar and water. Cook on medium heat for 2 minutes or until the palm sugar has dissolve. Then turn off the heat and add all of the other ingredients in. Mix well. Taste and adjust. For the pickled garlic, make sure to cut off the tip and take out the hard bits in the center when you cut it. Allow to cool completely before using. Store the dressing in a container (in the fridge) for up to 1 week. It can be made a day ahead.
- Soak the 4 bundle of bean thread noodles in warm water for 15 minutes until they get hydrated. Drain the soaking water. Pour hot boiling water over the noodles and let it sit and cook for 2 minutes or until the noodles are just to the bite but should be cooked. Drain well and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Transfer back to a bowl and use a scissor to cut it slightly shorter for easier consumption.
- Soak the white fungus in lukewarm water for 15 minutes. After soaking, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the soaked fungus into the boiling water and cook it for 5 minutes or so. Drain and rinse with cold water. Make sure to rinse off any dirt or residue inside the fungus. Then trim off the button yellow part of the mushroom and save the white curly part. Cut the cleaned and trimmed fungus into bite size pieces and set aside.
- Prep and cut your vegetables and proteins. Add it to the noodles along with the cooked fungus in a big bowl. Add in the dressing and finish with the roasted peanuts. This salad is best eaten the day of. It will also be great the next day. Best eaten no more than 2 days. Store in the fridge if you can't finish it. Enjoy!
Notes
Add other vegetables and proteins to your liking! Add more lime/spice if you want more sourness/spice! The choices are yours. *The glass noodles will not get rock hard when refrigerated if cooked properly. *If you buy the Vietnamese pork roll frozen, make sure to thaw it out before using. *Add the dressing to your liking.
