Take-me-away-to-Thailand spicy noodle salad

I recently spent eight heavenly days in Thailand, at a resort at Khao Lak, about 90 minutes north of Phuket. It was eight days away from Canberra’s never ending winter, of warm days and nights, of swimming in the rain, cracking open our own coconut using just rocks, and of bone melting massages. And, of course, it included loads of fresh, simple Thai food. 

Our local Khao Lak beach

 

Relaxing in paradise, with our own freshly cracked coconut

This three-year-old takes a beach stroll every afternoon

The wonderful Phang Nga Islands

Evening at the resort

There are so many lessons to be found in Thai cooking. The ingredients are fresh and the flavours are bold. There’s no fear of spice and it’s all about balancing the sweet, the sour and the salty. A dish of Pad Thai may be accompanied by small bowls of lime juice, chilli flakes, fish sauce so that the diner can tweak the flavours to suit their own palate.

It’s not often that I’ll feature recipes on the blog using out of season vegies but, right now, I need a dish that will take me away to a small restaurant on the beach, that sings of a summer half a world away…

Spicy noodle salad

Salad

Glass noodles aka vermicelli, enough to make 200g when cooked

2 shallots – dice the white end, and cut the green shoot into 2cm lengths

50 g tofu, diced

A small handful of celery leaf or coriander, roughly chopped

1 tomato, julienned

4-5 button mushrooms, sliced

Dressing

2 tsp sambal oelek, or chilli sauce

2 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp coconut palm sugar

1 tbsp soy or fish sauce

Soak the noodles in water for 30 minutes, or until they soften.

To prepare the sauce, mix the ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste and adjust until it tastes the way you want it to, then set aside.

Bring a cup of water to the boil in a small saucepan. Add the tofu and mushrooms for just 30 seconds then drain through a sieve.

In another saucepan, boil water and add the noodles for 30 seconds. Drain the noodles and drop into iced water to rapidly cool them. Drain well and put them in a large bowl. Add the tofu and all the vegies, pour the dressing over the top, toss to mix and serve.