Thai Cucumber Salad

“Perky and refreshing” aptly describes this easy Thai-inspired salad that pairs perfectly with other Asian-style foods. It’s a recipe that my friend, Sheila Ballweg-Pulju, has prepared again and again since she discovered it online a couple of years ago. Her family loves the dressing — she’s found that it complements other vegetable salads equally well. She’s also experimented by adding shredded carrots, finely chopped cabbage or diced celery to the cucumbers, peppers and green onions. Sheila suggests turning it into a main course with the addition of cooked, peeled jumbo shrimp. Enjoy! CJK

Thai Cucumber Salad

(Sheila Ballweg-Pulju)

Salad

1 English cucumber, peeled or unpeeled

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup cilantro, lightly chopped

1/2 cup basil, lightly chopped

1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, lightly chopped or left whole

Dressing

Juice of one lime

2 tbsp. fish sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. Hot and Sour Tom Yum Paste

1 tbsp. soy sauce

1/2 to 3/4 tsp. chili sauce (or 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper)*

1 to 2 tsp. sugar (or more, if desired)

Cut cucumber in half lengthwise; continue slicing those pieces lengthwise, making eight long strips. Then slice the strips the other way to create bite-sized rectangular chunks. Place in a salad bowl. Add the red pepper, green onions, fresh herbs and peanuts to the bowl.

Combine the dressing ingredients in a measuring cup, stirring to mix. Taste for a sweet-sour balance, adding more sugar if desired. (The dressing may seem salty and pungent at this point, but it will be just right when it is combined with the salad.)

To serve, transfer the salad to a serving platter or bowl. Right before serving, add the dressing and toss. Top it with more chopped cilantro, basil and peanuts.

Yield: 4 servings

A note from Sheila: Be careful with the amount of *chili sauce or cayenne pepper that you add — you don’t want the dressing to be too hot.

It’s important to add the dressing at the last minute — right before serving the salad. I’ve learned that the longer it sits with the dressing on it, the more liquid (released from the cucumbers) gathers on the bottom of the salad bowl.

This Asian-style dressing is good on any vegetable salad combination. Recently, I lightly cooked green beans and added sliced colored bell peppers, red onion, and small pieces of cauliflower and roasted pine nuts to them. It was absolutely delicious mixed with the dressing! (Slivered almonds would also be tasty in place of the pine nuts.) I doubled the amount of dressing for this creation and added it to the veggies right away, as it didn’t have the “water content issues” created by the cucumber.

A note from Carol: Fish sauce is one of the most common ingredients used in Thai cooking. This kitchen staple in numerous Asian cultures is a dark caramel-colored liquid extracted from the fermentation of fish with sea salt. In Thailand it goes by the name nam pla and is known as nuoc mam in Vietnam, it’s shottsuru in Japan, yu lu in China and prahoc in Cambodia. There is no real substitute for it — the flavor it imparts to a dish is truly distinct. It’s easy to find in the Asian food section of most supermarkets.

Hot and sour tom yum paste, available in Asian food stores, is a Thai spice paste that is essential in traditional hot-and-sour soups. It’s a mixture of herbs and spices that are crushed and stir-fried in oil before being preserved. Lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, coriander, garlic, chilies, galangal and shallots are typical ingredients.