Stock up on cilantro, mint, and shallots and you’re well on your way to enjoying the aromatic salads of Thailand. Lightness and the emphasis on balancing hot, sour, and salty elements seem to be the hallmark of Thai greens. Instead of oils and vinegars, try whipping out the chiles, limes, and fish sauce for a change.

Culantro sounds and tastes like that other love-it-or-hate-it herb found on Indian and Mexican dishes. Also known as long-leaf, spiny, serrated, or sawtooth coriander, culantro looks completely different. It has a stronger scent and weaker taste compared to cilantro, but maybe it’s just me.

You’ll also need ground toasted rice, a seemingly insignificant ingredient that is easy to overlook. If you ever see it listed in any Thai recipe, just remember that it is never optional.

recipe adapted from David Thompson’s Thai Food
Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Cook Almost Anything

Thai Wild Mushroom Salad
Yam Het Bpa

makes 4 servings as a side dish

King Oyster Mushrooms.

Ingredients:

a few handfuls of wild mushrooms, about 1/3 pound, sliced
2 tablespoons stock
a pinch of salt
a pinch of sugar
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
a large pinch of chile powder
4 shallots, thinly sliced
a handful of mint and cilantro, leaves only
2 tablespoons culantro (pak chii farang)
1 tablespoons scallions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon ground toasted rice (khao kua)
a few sprigs of Thai basil
sliced cabbage and cucumber

Pak chii farang, aka foreign coriander. ‘Tis originally from the West (Central America).

Directions:

1. Place the mushrooms, stock, salt, and sugar in a small pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until the mushrooms are done (the cooking time varies depending on the type of mushrooms you use). Adjust the amount of water you add so that the water is almost completely evaporated when the mushrooms are done.
2. Remove the mushrooms from the heat and season with the lime juice, fish sauce, and chile powder. Place in a bowl and toss with the shallots, herbs, and scallions.
3. To serve, sprinkle with the ground toasted rice. Serve with Thai basil leaves and slices of cabbage and cucumber.

Mushrooms seasoned with fish sauce, lime juice, and chile powder.

Cooked king oyster mushrooms have a pleasing meaty texture.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Thai Wild Mushroom Salad

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Ensalada Valenciana is a simple salad of potatoes and oranges dressed with a red wine vinaigrette. This light salad has several layers of sweetness — subtle red potatoes, fresh and fruity oranges, and roasted savory pimientos.

What is a pimiento? It’s a generic Spanish word for peppers, but in this recipe, pimientos refer to roasted, skinned, and seeded sweet peppers. Pimientos are available canned or jarred but can be easily made at home.

For homemade pimientos, roast whole sweet peppers (such as your standard red bell) at 375ºF / 190ºC for about 30 minutes, turning halfway through roasting. The skins will blister and blacken. Peel the roasted peppers and remove the seeds. Refrigerated in an airtight container, pimientos will keep for several days.

recipe adapted from Penelope Casas’ The Foods and Wines of Spain
Monthly Mingle: Healthy Family Dinners hosted by What’s Cooking Blog

Ensalada Valenciana
Potato and Orange Salad

makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

3 medium red waxy potatoes, about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds
1/2 red onion
1 orange
1 pimiento
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Place the potatoes in a pot and fill with water to cover. Add a few pinches of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and continue cooking until the potatoes are tender and easily pierced with a fork. Simmering may take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes depending on the size. Let the potatoes cool completely, peel, and slice into 1-inch chunks.
2. Slice the red onion into thin slivers.
3. Peel the orange, slice into 1/4-inch cartwheels, and quarter.
4. Slice the pimiento into strips.
5. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, onions, orange slices, and pimientos. Mix together the oil and vinegar briefly, pour over the salad, and fold gently with a rubber spatula.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until well chilled.
7. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Potato and Orange Salad – Ensalada Valenciana

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6. Japanese Vinegared Cucumber

There are two major categories in Japanese salads — sunomono (“vinegared things”) and aemono (“dressed things”). This crisp asparagus salad falls under aemono where a simple dressing of Japanese mustard, egg yolk, and soy sauce is applied sparingly, just enough to provide that distinctive mustard heat.

Weekend Herb Blogging hosted this week by Joanna’s Food

recipe adapted from Shizuo Tsuji’s Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art

Asparagus with Mustard Dressing
アスパラガス辛子あえ (Asuparagasu Karashi-Ae)

20 asparagus spears, trimmed and pared
salt

For the Mustard Dressing:

2 teaspoons Japanese mustard powder + 2 teaspoons water
1 egg yolk
1 tsp soy sauce
dried bonito flakes /katsuo-bushi (optional)

Notes:

• Substitute 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard for the Japanese mustard powder  mixture.

Cut the asparagus into 1 to 2-inch lengths. Prepare a bowl filled with iced water.

Blanche/parboil the asparagus in lightly salted boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Shock the asparagus in the bowl of iced water to stop the cooking and lock in the bright green color.

If using the Japanese mustard powder, mix with 2 teaspoons of water in a bowl to make a paste and let stand for about 10 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk and the soy sauce with the mustard. Sprinkle the mustard dressing with dried bonito flakes if using. Toss the asparagus in the bowl with the mustard dressing and serve at room temperature.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Asparagus the Japanese Way

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This is a refreshing and simple recipe for the ubiquitous Japanese side dish that seems to go well with anything. The sanbaizu, or “three flavors vinegar” dressing, is a delicate balance between sweet, sour, and salty but doesn’t overwhelm the clean and mild flavors of cucumber.

Salad Spinnin’ hosted by Joelen

recipe adapted from Shizuo Tsuji’s Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art

Vinegared Cucumber
きゅうりの酢もみ (Kyuri no Sumomi)

Cucumbers, in paper-thin slices
salt, to taste

Notes:

• I tried to bring out my inner Morimoto but uniformly slicing cucumber into paper thin slices is more difficult than it seems. My trusty Benriner Mandoline will have to do for now.

Season the cucumber slices and knead lightly for a minute. Let stand in a bowl while preparing the sanbaizu.

Three Flavors Vinegar Dressing
三杯酢 (Sanbaizu)

1 cup rice vinegar
1 cup dashi
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar

Notes:

• If you plan to cook Japanese dishes frequently, consider getting instant dashi at your local Asian grocery store. A teaspoon of this granulated bonito flake and kombu seasoning will be enough to make 3 to 4 cups of fully flavored stock in minutes. Instant dashi is also known as dashi-no-moto or hon-dashi.

Combine all the sanbaizu ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer while mixing. Once the sugar is dissolved, cool the dressing rapidly by pouring into a bowl set in a larger bowl filled with ice water.

To Serve:

Drain the cucumbers. Pour enough sanbaizu to moisten the cucumber slices. Gently squeeze and drain a second time to eliminate excess wateriness. Serve at room temperature and add more sanbaizu if desired.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Japanese Vinegared Cucumber

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