Thai Shrimp Salad
14 ounces raw salad
shrimp
4 stalks lemon grass
4 tablespoons
lime juice
4 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 stalk cilantro
10 stalks
fresh mint
4 small shallots
2 hot red chili
peppers
2 green onions
In a sieve or wire basket, cook shrimp until just pink by plunging into a pot of
rapidly boiling shrimp shell or vegetable stock or water. Bruise lemon grass
well, slice very thinly into rounds and place in bowl. Combine lime juice, fish
sauce and fructose and pour over lemon grass. Set aside to allow flavors to
blend. Remove root from cilantro and set aside for use in another dish. Remove
leaves from stalks and keep whole; chop stalks coarsely. Remove leaves from mint
and discard stalks. Set aside a handful of the mint and cilantro leaves for
garnish. Slice shallots thinly in rounds.
Pound hot peppers to release the oils, then chop finely. Cut green onion tops
for garnish. Then cut white stalks in four pieces lengthwise, then into one inch
lengths. Ten minutes before serving, combine shrimp with lemon grass mixture and
allow to stand. To serve, combine with remaining ingredients and toss well.
Mound on a plate and garnish with mint and cilantro and green onion tops. Serves
4 generously.