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200 g Chinese cabbage
½ carrot
8 large cherry tomatoes
8 cooked king shrimps, peeled,
de-veined, tails intact
½ cup raw peanuts, roasted, lightly
crushed
1 cup mixed Asian herb leaves (Thai
basil, cilantro and mint)
Nuoc cham dressing*:
4 long red chilies
2 garlic cloves
4 tablespoons castor sugar
⅓ cup lime (calamansi) juice from
about 3 limes
¾ cup fish sauce
⅓ cup rice vinegar
Finely chopped green or red small
chilies, to taste
(available at Asian food
shops and selected greengrocers)
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Method:
For the Vietnamese nuoc cham dressing,
split the long red chilies, remove and discard the seeds, then slice.
Pound the garlic with a pinch of salt using a large mortar and pestle.
Add the sliced red chilies and continue to pound the mixture to a fine
paste. Alternatively, pulse garlic and chili briefly in a food
processor to finely chop. Add castor sugar and stir to blend.
Squeeze in the lime juice, then slowly stir in the fish sauce, rice
wine vinegar and 1 cup water until completely incorporated. Add
chopped small chilies to taste. To assemble the salad, finely
slice the cabbage leaves and place in a mixing bowl. Peel the
carrots and cut into thin matchsticks. Halve the cherry
tomatoes, then add to the bowl with the carrots, shrimps, peanuts and
mixed herbs. Add enough of the nuoc cham dressing to generously
coat the salad (leftover dressing will keep for 2-3 days in the
fridge). Toss well to combine, then divide among serving plates.
Nuoc cham dressing*
The classic Vietnamese Nuoc cham
dressing is also great as a dipping sauce, or to serve with barbecued
chicken, grilled meat and roasted or grilled fish. You can even
use it just to dress an iceberg salad, or a salad of shredded green
mango or papaya.
Small chilies (also known as
bird's-eye chilies) give a fantastic flavor as well as extra heat
- they are more citrus than regular chilies.
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