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Thai Glass Noodle Salad (Yum Woon Sen)

Yum woon sen is a classic Thai salad that's a staple in many Thai homes. This easy dish is bright and fresh, and is great as a side or even as the main dish for a light meal. Gluten free.

Servings: 2 servings
Course: Main Course , Appetizer
Cuisine: Thai

Ingredients

  • 1.4 oz dry glass noodles aka "bean threads" or "bean vermicelli" see note 1
  • 1 Tablespoon dried shrimp optional, see note 2
  • 1 medium tomato cut into wedges
  • ¼ cup julienned onion
  • 1 stalk Chinese celery or 2 inner small stalks and leaves of regular celery thinly sliced
  • 6 medium or large shrimp peeled and deveined
  • 3.5 oz ground pork
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  • ¼ cup roasted peanuts roughly chopped
The Dressing
  • 10 sprigs cilantro
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1-3 Thai chilies to taste
  • 1 Tablespoon palm sugar finely chopped, packed
  • 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
  • 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Soak the glass noodles in room temperature water for 7-10 minutes until soft and pliable.
  2. Meanwhile, 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 and chilies; pound into a paste. Add palm sugar and pound until dissolved. Add 2 tablespoon of the fish sauce and lime juice and stir to dissolve the sugar.
  3. Place the dried shrimp 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 until cool enough to handle, then drain. Without a microwave, you can cover the dried shrimp with boiling water and let them sit for a few minutes.
  4. Place the tomato, onion and Chinese celery into a large mixing bowl. When the dried shrimp are ready, drain and pound them in a mortar and pestle until they are broken into smaller pieces. Alternatively, you can roughly chop them. Add dried shrimp to the mixing bowl.
  5. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Drain the glass noodles and cut them with scissors into 2-3 sections to shorten them. Boil the glass noodles for 2 minutes then remove them from the water with tongs (keep the water boiling) and place into a strainer to drain excess water; set aside.
  6. Add fresh shrimp into the remaining liquid and cook for 30-45 seconds or until they are done. Place the shrimp into the mixing bowl.
  7. 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 pork along with 1 teaspoon of fish sauce and stir until fully cooked. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pork from the liquid and place into the mixing bowl.  Then add about 1 tablespoon of the pork cooking liquid into the mixing bowl as well.
  8. Add noodles into the mixing bowl, pour the dressing over and quickly toss to combine.
  9. Roughly chop the leafy cilantro sprigs then toss them into the salad. Sprinkle with peanuts and serve immediately!

Notes

  • If possible use glass noodles that are made from 100% mung bean starch, such as Pine Brand.
  • Dried shrimp can be found in the refrigerated section of Asian grocery stores. They come in a range of sizes, and I always go for one of the medium ones.