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.
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 20 min
- Yield
- 2 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- 1.4 oz dry glass noodles (aka "bean threads" or "bean vermicelli" see note 1)
- 1 tbsp dried shrimp (optional, see note 2)
- 1 medium tomato (cut into wedges)
- 1/4 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 tsp fish sauce
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts (roughly chopped)
- 10 sprigs cilantro
- 2 clove garlic
- 1-3 Thai chilies (to taste)
- 1 tbsp palm sugar (finely chopped, packed)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
Instructions
- 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 Tbsp 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 tsp 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 Tbsp 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!