Yum woon sen is a super popular Thai salad dish.
The word yum literally translates to mix or toss, which refers to a type of Thai salad.
While woon sen means glass noodles.
Yum woon sen is my favorite Thai salad.
I used to eat Yum woon sen in Thailand all the time.
It s the perfect summer dish that everyone must eat.
Soak the glass noodles in water for 15 minutes.
Drain.
To make the dressing, mix the lime juice, fish sauce, and palm sugar, and whisk until
the sugar is dissolved.
Place in the bird s eye chili peppers, and garlic.
Whisk.
Traditionally, the bird s eye chili peppers and garlic are pounded in a mortar and pestle,
but if you don t have one, chopping them with a knife will do just fine.
In a pan over low heat, add the avocado oil, or oil of your choice, and peanuts.
Stir-fry until golden brown for 2 minutes.
It s ok to add the nuts while the oil is still cool, so they will cook evenly and won t be
burned.
Remove and set aside.
In the same pan over low heat, with the remaining oil, add the dried shrimp, and stir-fry until
aromatic and crispy for 2 minutes.
It s ok that it looks slightly dark at this moment, once it s mixed in the salad, the
salad will absorb its color and umami flavor.
Take it out and set it aside.
In a pot of water over high heat, bring to a boil.
Place in the glass noodles and boil until al dente, about 30 seconds.
Remove and drain.
In the same pot of water over high heat, bring it back to a boil.
Put in then deveined shrimp, and boil until pink for 2 minutes.
Remove and drain.
Discard most of the water in the pot, leaving about 1 cup remaining.
Over high heat, add the ground pork and fish sauce.
Stir until well done for 3 minutes.
Take it out and drain.
To assemble the salad, in a large mixing bowl, toss in the glass noodles, pork, shrimp, dried
shrimp, onion, shallot, celery, tomatoes, cilantro, and dressing.
Mix well.
Serve on a plate and top with the peanuts.
It has so many dimensions of flavors and textures.
You get the slippery and chewy glass noodles, crunchy and juicy vegetables, and snappy and
bouncy shrimp.
It s full of umami taste, spicy, tangy, and kind of sweet.
I miss Thailand already!