Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Thai-Inspired Caesar Salad Recipe

Thai-Inspired Caesar Salad Recipe

This is the recipe for the "Thai-inspired" Caesar salad that our neighbor showed us, which we served at our recent Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 Chinese New Year dinner.

"Thai-Inspired Caesar salad"

Ingredients for Salad

2 hearts of Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cup chopped cilantro
4 hard-boiled egg whites, chopped
Fried won ton noodles
cubed chicken breast (optional)

Ingredients for Dressing

1/2 onion, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp Italian dressing

1 tsp finely minced garlic
4 hard-boiled egg yolks
1 Tbsp peanut butter
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1/4 cup water
2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1 Tbsp sugar (to taste)

Method:

1. Thinly slice half a white onion and marinate it with the Italian dressing.

Thinly sliced onion marinating in Italian dressing

2. Hard boil 4 eggs. When cooked, cool, drain, then peel the eggs. Cut them in half and separate the yolks from the whites. (Chop the whites up and add them to the salad.)

3. Mash the egg yolks in a bowl.

IMG_1126

4. Add the garlic, peanut butter, mayonnaise, water, fish sauce, and Italian dressing. Stir well to combine. It should be a smooth sauce, with very little lumps.

5. Add the marinated onions to the dressing.

6. Add in the sugar, a little at a time, until it reaches the desired balance of sweet to tart. (We used white sugar, but palm sugar from Thailand would also work.)

When ready to serve, lightly toss the lettuce, egg whites and fried won ton noodles together with the dressing, then plate up.

Thai-Inspired Caesar Salad

Thai-Inspired Caesar Salad Recipe

What I like about this dressing is that you can customize it to your tastes. It is nice and garlicky but it also has the added peanut element, not to mention the fish sauce that replaces the Worcestershire in the original recipe.

Aloha, Nate

Hungry for more salads? Click below:

Chopped Shrimp Waldorf Salad

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30 comments:

  1. thank you for sharing the salad!

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  2. Thank you, thank you, thank you...I'm going to try this out this week.

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  3. That is a very interesting dressing. It looks really good. Thanks for the recipe.

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  4. This is interesting. I won't mind having mine with some cherry tomatoes.. hehe. :)

    http://crizfood.com/

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  5. This struck me as a tad odd at the first reading of the recipe, but now that I think about it more and more, it sounds very cool! Your pictures of it are amazing!

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  6. Anonymous5:58 AM

    This sounds delicious. I love Caesar salads and Thai flavours are never wrong. What a great way to combine them.

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  7. Anonymous8:09 AM

    That sounds great. I like the idea of the fried noodles as the "croutons"

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  8. Anonymous8:57 AM

    this sounds fantastic - anything with PB is good in my book!

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  9. How original. Thanks for the recipe! Am going to check out your 24 post now :)

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  10. BBUURRRRPPPP!!!! I'll give you one guess as to what we had for dinner tonight. Four resounding thumbs up, even from Ms. Starch-loving Toothpick! What's for dinner tomorrow? =)

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  11. Dear friends, what an absolutely lovely and delicious looking salad. I must try it. Happy New Year to you as well. :)

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  12. @all - thanks for your comments!

    @Pearl - you're welcome

    @PeterM - you're welcome x3! Let us know how it turns out!

    @Criz - unfortunately, it's not the right season for tomatoes here.

    @J - wow, 4 thumbs up, really? I am so happy!

    @Teresa - welcome, and do let us know what you think!

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  13. When I see peanut butter and fish sauce written within proximity of each other, I am all ears. Will definitely saving this recipe for a future meal.

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  14. Anonymous8:30 PM

    This salad sounds interestingly unique! I've got to try this sometime. Thanks for sharing!

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  15. This looks a lot better than traditional Caesar salad recipe. I think it might have something to do with the peanut butter... =D

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  16. this sounds great - can't wait to try this one!

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  17. Anonymous11:20 PM

    This looks exciting!

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  18. nice salad...I will give it a whirl

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    Summer Winds Nursery : http://www.summerwindsca.com/

    861, East El Camino Real,
    Sunnyvale , CA
    94087.
    USA

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  20. Uh, Yum! What a great recipe! I might skip the Italian Dressing part (make my own vinaigrette), but otherwise, I'm in!

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  21. Anonymous4:24 AM

    Sounds gooood!

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  22. wow, nice photography...thanks for stopping by at my blog.I would love to try ur squash with spinach in coco milk curry . We use lots of coconuts in our curries..

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  23. Anonymous7:30 AM

    What are fried wonton noodles? Is it a noodle you buy separately or wonton skins that you sliced thinly? :)

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  24. that looks absolutely delectable!

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  25. Anonymous10:40 AM

    As someone who was lucky enough to actually taste this salad, all I can say is that it totally rocks. The dressing would be fab on chicken salad. And there's Italian dressing in the mix? Who would have guessed! The peanut butter really makes it pop.

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  26. Anonymous12:34 PM

    That looks like a really delicious salad, and a great option for serving vegetarians and non-vegetarians at the same meal.

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  27. @all - yes, the peanut butter is surprisingly good in this sauce. I (and our neighbor) would be so thrilled to know that this recipe is being enjoyed all over!

    @Brooke - I don't see a problem with making your own vinaigrette, as long as you can find that balance of herbs, tartness, and sweetness. Let us know what you come up with!

    @Trini - the fried wonton noodles come pre-fried in a package at the grocery store. You see it in the Asian aisle, part of the fixings for "Chinese Chicken Salad".

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  28. OOOoooo that sounds tasty.

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  29. Oh, coolio. Interesting with mashing the egg yolks as part of the dressing. We don't usually have Italian dressing on hand, so I may have to think of something else for that component. Have bookmarked/clipped this. Will definitely try!

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  30. @ts - do let us know how it turns out for you!

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