Thai Clear Noodle Salad (Yum Woon Sen)

Submitted by PanNan

"I made this recipe in a Thai noodle cooking class. It tasted so good and fresh, and was very easy. Great for a summer evening when you want something that's filling and delicious, but not served hot."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 2 (3 1/2 ounce) packages mung bean noodles (bean thread noodles)
• 1 1⁄2 lbs ground turkey (or ground pork, thinly sliced cooked pork, cooked shrimp, or shredded cooked chicken, your choice)
• 2 large carrots, cut match stick style (about 1 cup)
• 2 celery ribs, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/4 cup)
• 1⁄2 cup green onion, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup roasted peanuts, unsalted
• 1 bunch romaine lettuce, torn
• 1⁄4 head cabbage, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chili flakes

• DRESSING

• 7 tablespoons fish sauce
• 7 tablespoons lime juice
• 5 teaspoons brown sugar
• 3 fresh red jalapeno chiles or 3 Thai chiles, chopped

directions

1. Soak mung bean noodles in warm water for 15 minutes. Drain and cut into short lengths and place in a bowl. Pour hot water over the noodles and soak for another 5 minutes. Drain in a colander, and rinse with cold water to separate the noodles. Let stand in the colander until ready to use.
2. Cook ground turkey with a little water over medium heat. When brown, drain any excess water, and place in a large mixing bowl. Let cool 5 minutes.
3. Mix dressing ingredients in a small bowl, and taste for proper balance of sweet/sour/salty/spicy. Adjust if necessary. Pour dressing over cooked ground turkey and toss lightly.
4. Add noodles and stir until well mixed. Taste and adjust if necessary.
5. Add carrot, celery, shallot, green onion, cilantro, and 1/2 cup of peanuts. Toss well.
6. Divide lettuce and cabbage on serving plates. Place noodle mixture on top, and sprinkle with remaining peanut, and chili flakes.

Reviews

[Azure Eyes]

Delicious! Just like the local Thai restaurant.

 

[Mamas Kitchen Hope]

This was a nice salad but I did not care for the dressing- fish sauce overpowered. I used shredded chicken breast and almonds rather than peanuts. I will make this again using less fish sauce- maybe replacing some of it with rice vinegar. Thanks for sharing this PanNan!

 

[lauralie41]

I made this recipe for 2 servings and really wanted to give it a five star review but the noodles and the sauce were not winners for me. Used shredded chicken breast, cole slaw blend, and parsley instead of cilantro. The chili flakes I added a pinch or two and used a jalapeno that I cut the seeds out of for the chilies in the sauce. The noodles didnt really have a flavor and like the other reviews I didnt care for the strong fish sauce taste. If I make this again I would sub angel hair pasta and find another recipe for the sauce or buy a dressing from the store. Made and reviewed for the Culinary Quest 2016 - Thailand/Indonesia.

 

[ElizabethKnicely]

This salad was good, but I agree that the fish sauce was just too overpowering. I also used shredded chicken and peanuts. My husband and I ate this, but my kids wouldn't. I will try again at a later time with a different dressing using less fish sauce. Made for the Asian round of ZWT9 for team Tasty Testers.

 

[Zenserotonin]

the fish sauce was too strong, i think that it should be decreased to 7 tablespoons....plus, that's a lot of sodium in an otherwise healthy salad.