Dish of Mixed Noodles Salad
(click to enlarge)

Mixed Noodles Salad


Burma
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 4 pounds
****
2-1/2 hrs
Most		 This is quite the party salad, but takes real organization to produce efficiently. It's a project, but with careful planning can be spread over 3 days. Ingredients listed here are typical, but can vary.
This salad can be made completely vegetarian by using Shan Tua Nao Disks instead of the Shrimp Powder. See also Serving for more details.

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7
4
2
2
1
1
1
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3
5
5
3/4
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1-1/3
4
4
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2
1
1/2
1/2
1/2
3
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oz
oz
c


c
c
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oz
oz

c
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oz
oz
oz
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T
T
t
T
c
T
-- Vegies
Potatoes (1)
Onions, red
Cabbage Shreds (2)
Tomato, Plum
Chili Serrano
Mango, Green (3)
Cilantro leaves
-- Deep Fry
Shallots
Tofu, ext. firm
Wanton Wrapper
Oil
-- Noodles
Mung Bean (4)
Rice, large (5)
Chinese Wheat (6)
-- Dressing
Toasted Besan (7)
Shrimp Powder (8)
Chili Flake (9)
Salt
Tamarind Water
Lime Juice.
Do Ahead    
  1. Prepare SE Asian Pantry Staples if not on hand (Notes 7 & 8).
  2. Prepare Tamarind Water. Chop up 3 Tablespoons Tamarind Paste and soak in 3/4 cup hot water at least 1/2 hour. Force through a strainer, discarding solids.
Vegies   -   (45 min)   -   You can mix as you go.
  1. Peel POTATOES and cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Place in a sauce pan with water to cover and bring to a boil until just cooked through. Drain and cool.
  2. Quarter ONION lengthwise, peel and slice crosswise about 1/8 inch thick. Soak in cold water for about 20 minutes. Drain.
  3. Shred CABBAGE about 1/8 inch wide.
  4. Dice TOMATOES about 3/8 inch.
  5. Chop CHILI fine - seed if you don't want hot spots.
  6. Peel MANGO or PAPAYA and cut into very narrow strips about 2-1/2 inches long. I use a julienning vegetable peeler.
  7. Pinch CILANTRO leaves from stems. Measure is loosely packed.
Deep Fry   -   (45 min)
  1. Cut SHALLOTS in half lengthwise. Peel and slice crosswise very thin, and as evenly as you can for even frying.
  2. Cut TOFU into about 1/2 inch cubes.
  3. Cut WONTON WRAPPERS into strips about 3/8 inch wide. Don't bunch them up or they'll be difficult to fry.
  4. In a wok, heat Oil. Stir in Shallots and fry stirring over declining flame until they are medium brown and almost crisp. Remove to paper towels with a spider.
  5. Reserve 2 Tablespoons (1 ounce) of the Oil at this point.
  6. Bring remaining oil up over high flame. Fry Tofu Cubes, tumbling until medium golden on the outside. Remove to paper towels with spider.
  7. In small batches, scatter Won Ton Strips over the oil, stirring them in so they don't stick together. Fry tumbling until lightly browned and blistered. Keep the oil below 400°F/200°C or they will brown unevenly. Remove to paper towels with spider.
Noodles   -   (50 min)
  1. Set Mung Bean Noodles in a bowl covered in cold water for at least 20 minutes.
  2. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil and stir in Chinese Wheat Noodles. Boil until cooked through, typically around 7 minutes. They will cook soft, not "al dente", because they are made of soft wheat. Scoop them out with a spider and quench in cold water. Drain well and cut as may be appropriate.
  3. With the water back to a boil, stir in Thick Rice Noodles until just cooked through. This can be as much as 20 minutes. Scoop them out with a spider and quench in cold water. Drain well and cut as may be appropriate.
  4. Drain Mung Bean Noodles and dump into the boiling water for about 30 seconds. Strain out and quench in cold water. Drain well and make a couple cuts through the bunch so they are of manageable length.
  5. It is OK to mix all the noodles at this point.
Finish & Serve   -   (8 min)
  1. Squeeze LIME JUICE.
  2. In a bowl, mix or assemble as you desire, All Items, including the Reserved Oil - EXCEPT Won Ton Strips (see Serving). When ready to serve, scatter Won Ton Strips on top of the salad.
  3. Serve cool.
NOTES:

  1. Potatoes:

      White Rose or similar work well in recipes of this sort. Klondike Gold type potatoes can be used as cooking time is short. For details see our Potatoes page.

  2. Cabbage:

      You can use regular head cabbage, but Savoy Cabbage will make fluffier shreds. You can also use Napa Cabbage, which is actually a turnip green.

  3. Green Mango

    -or-

    Green Papaya:

      These must be really hard green. Asian markets sell them in that form specifically for salad recipes. I prefer Mango, but it is not always in season.

  4. Mung Bean Threads:

      These are the common Bean Thread noodles found everywhere in little 1-1/2 to 2 ounce hanks. Just don't accidently use thin Rice Noodles, which look the same dried but behave much differently.

  5. Rice Noodles, Large:

      Preferably these are round, but if not available flat ones less than 1/4 inch wide can be used. Both are usually labeled "Vietnamese style" or "Pho Noodles".

  6. Chinese Wheat Noodles

      Practically any variety can be used if it isn't too wide, but I prefer not to use those that are dyed a garish yellow.

  7. Toasted Besan

      [chickpea flour]:   This is an important staple ingredient throughout Burma, but not much anywhere else. It is easy to make by our recipe Toasted Chickpea Flour (Besan).

  8. Shrimp Powder:

      This is just dried shrimp run in a spice grinder very fine. Many SE Asian recipes have you soak the shrimp before pounding or processing. I consider this not needed if you have a whirling blade spice grinder. For details see our Dried Shrimp page.

  9. Chili Flake:

      Korean is fine for a mild flake, or use what you please. I usually use Indian Reshampatti or Khandela which are hotter, but flavorful.

  10. Serving:

      The Burmese name translates to "Hand Mixed Salad", and mixing by hand gives you the best control. In fancy restaurants, the components are delivered at table-side, all arranged on a tray for show, and then mixed there (using utensils in North America). For home use and buffet parties it can just be all mixed before being set out. This is much easier and takes far fewer containers and less clean-up, as you can mix during prep.
  11. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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