Yum woon sen - Thai glass noodle salad with squid and prawns

Cooking time: 15 min. / 5 min.Difficulty: easy

Recipes → Thailand

The last meal I had in Thailand before I left. I nearly dropped a tear. This time surprisingly not because of the spiciness, the late afternoon simply felt so good. The sun was setting slowly and its rays were getting through the window of a small street restaurant. A very peaceful place. Thailand knows how to say good bye. And this amazing refreshing salad was another proof of it too :)

Process

If you can`t buy roasted glutinous rice powder (it is more coarse than flour), you can make it easily yourself. In Thai cuisine it is used quite a lot, so just make much more than you need for the salad, that you can use it later too. It brings nice crunchy consistency to the dishes. 

First roast dry (uncooked) glutinous rice on a dry pan on a low heat for about 15 minutes until it gets golden color and starts releasing popcorn like scent. Stir constantly. Remove from stove. Let it cool down and pound in a mortar for a coarse powder or blend in a blender.

Bring water to a boil in a pot (enough of water to cover prawns and squid later). Stir in squid and prawns and cook 2-3 minutes. Remove from fire and strain.

Cook glass noodles according to the instructions on the pack. Remove from fire, strain and rinse with cold water to avoid further cooking.

Crush chilies, garlic, salt, MSG, sugar and rice powder in a mortar. Add a lime juice, fish sauce and oil and pound just slightly to mix all the flavours.

Mix together scallion, cilantro, tomatoes, onion, noodles, squid, prawns and pour the dressing in. Add 1-2 tsp water if necessary.

Mix again and serve.

 

To buy a glutinous rice USA, UK, Europe