Lately I have been craving limes, which means I’ve been making a lot of Thai food (Mexican not being a cuisine I’ve tackled yet). I find something very refreshing about savory dishes with fresh lime juice squeezed over them, especially in summer. This dish uses primarily Thai ingredients, but it’s not authentic. The combination of lime, chili, and peanut flavors is distinctively Thai, however.
I’ve made this dish a couple of times, with shrimp and beef. It would also be good with tofu, vegetables, and/or chicken. It only takes about twenty minutes to throw together, less if you use shrimp (no chopping required). It makes a good light meal, but one would probably want to use it as an appetizer for a more formal dinner.
Thai Sweet Chili Noodles
Serves 3
Ingredients:
4.5 oz rice vermicelli (thin rice noodles)
1/2 lb protein source (beef, chicken, lamb, tofu) or 24 medium shrimp (cooked or raw) or 1/3 c. baby shrimp
1/2 c. chopped vegetables
4 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce (nam pla)
1 tsp lemongrass paste*
1 tsp sesame oil
Thai sweet chili sauce, to taste
4 cloves garlic, minced
peanut oil for frying
2 small (or 1 large) limes
Crushed unsalted roasted peanuts
Instructions
1. Cube tofu or slice chicken/beef/lamb very thinly. If using shrimp, skip this step.
2. Mix together soy sauce, fish sauce, lemongrass paste, sesame oil, and sweet chili sauce.
3. Add protein source to sauce and stir to coat. Set aside.
4. Set water on to boil in a large saucepan. Mince garlic.
5. When water is boiling, add rice noodles and cook until done (this takes a minute or less). Drain cooked rice noodles and run under cold water to prevent sticking. Set aside.
6. Heat peanut oil in wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and fry until fragrant.
7. Add protein source and fry until mostly cooked (unless using cooked shrimp). Add vegetables partway through and cook until brightly colored and crisp-looking.
8. Add cooked rice noodles (and cooked shrimp, if using those) and stir until coated with sauce. Remove from heat.
9. Serve with ground peanuts and lime wedges for garnish.
*I imagine one could substitute finely chopped fresh lemongrass, or perhaps fry some larger pieces with the garlic and then remove them. I’ll experiment with this if I ever find a local source of fresh lemongrass.
looks a bit complicated, but worth a try. Any thoughts as to quick and easy with an indian flair?
Bog
It’s not complicated at all; it just has a fair number of ingredients.
Quick and easy Indian, yes. I’ll post about that shortly.
But I warn you, I base “easy” on simplicity and speed, not number of ingredients.
The more ingredients, the better, I say. I just need to get some ink to print it all out for my trip to the store. I can’t wait to try some of your recepies.
Hope you like them.