One of my dear friends–blonde, blue-eyed Becky, grew up in Thailand, and didn’t even visit the States until well into her teens. We met at college on a hot summer afternoon. I was photographing the shadow-play of bamboo trees on the street behind my dorm, and Becky agreed to step in to a few of the frames. Not long after that, she cooked my first Thai meal, explaining in her lilting, song-like Thai, the names of the ingredients and dishes. It was a fantastic introduction.
In Thailand, Becky explained, there is no actual word for “salad,” but tossing fresh vegetables, proteins, and noodles together with a dressing is the commonplace equivalent, called “yam.” (I quickly learned to say, “Yum!” to yam.) This dish—glass noodles with shrimp, cilantro, Thai chilies, a bit of ground pork, fresh matchstick vegetables and sugared chili-lime-garlic-fishsauce dressing, is a classic known as Yam Woon Sen.
It is very customize-able: You can leave out the shrimp and pork if you like, or add in some fried tofu and more veggies, and, eat it warm or cool. For the dressing, I like to add some tamarind for extra pucker, and you can add a bit more sugar and less fish sauce if you like but be sure not to skip any of the dressing’s basic ingredients! The spicy sweet/sour/salty flavor profile of the dressing is what makes this “salad” sing. For service, I usually have extra cilantro, chopped peanuts and lime wedges on the table. 
Also, for those of you who are unfamiliar: Glass noodles are made with mung bean starch and are readily available at Southeast Asian + world-culture-leaning grocery stores. (They may be labeled as vermicelli, bean threads, or cellophane noodles—just check the ingredient listing on the package to make sure the noodles are made with mung beans, not rice flour.) The bags come with the noodles tied in cute little single-serve bundles, each weighing just under 2 ounces. For this recipe, I use two of the bundles to serve 2 to 3 people. Double the dressing recipe and add more bundles for a larger meal.
To prepare this yummy yam, I put the glass noodles in warm water to soak while I do the vegetable prep and measurements– peeling and trimming red bell pepper, carrot and cucumber into matchsticks. I slice green onion into 1-inch lengths and then sliver those, mince the cilantro stems, garlic, and chilies for the dressing, and finely chop the peanuts. I then prep the fresh shrimp, cutting off the heads and tails, and peel and clean each shrimp well. Then, I make the dressing, using a mortar and pestle to pound the Thai chili with the garlic, snipped cilantro stems, palm sugar and salt, adding in the tamarind and lime juice last.
With everything prepped and measured, all that’s left is to poach the shrimp, pork and noodles and stir everything together. The noodles will be a bit sticky, so pull them apart as you stir. This dish is a great use for the garden vegetables you’ve been nurturing all summer–or those you find at the farmer’s market.
Thai Glass Noodles, Shrimp + Veggies
Ingredients
- FOR THE GLASS NOODLE SHRIMP BOWL:
- 2, 1.8 to 2-oz bundles mung bean starch noodles (glass noodles)
- 8 to 10 large fresh shrimp, heads, tails and shells removed, cleaned well
- ½ lb. ground pork
- 1 Thai red chili, minced (optional)
- ½ cup red bell pepper, core, stem and seeds discarded, finely diced
- 2 green onions, (roots discarded,) cut into 1-inch lengths and slivered
- 1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves (save the stems for the dressing)
- ½ cup cucumber, peeled, cut into 2-inch matchsticks
- ½ cup carrot, peeled, cut into 2-inch matchsticks
- FOR THE DRESSING:
- ¼ cup cilantro stems, snipped fine to make 1 Tbsp
- 1 small Thai red chili, minced (NOTE: depending on your heat tolerance, you can add an extra chili)
- 1 clove garlic, minced to make 1 Tbsp
- 1 ½ Tbsp palm sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- Fresh lime juice to make ¼ cup
- 2 to 3 Tbsp Thai fish sauce (Fish sauce is funky; add at least 2 Tbsp, more if you like)
- 1 Tbsp tamarind concentrate
- FOR GARNISH:
- ½ cup unsalted roasted peanuts, finely chopped
- Lime wedges
- Extra cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Soak 2 of the 2-oz. glass noodle bundles in a bowl of warm water.
- Prep and measure vegetables. Peel and clean shrimp. Use a marble or stone mortal and pestle to mash the cilantro stems, minced chili, garlic, salt, and palm sugar into a paste. Stir in lime juice, fish sauce and tamarind concentrate and remove dressing to a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized pot, heat 4 cups of water mixed with 1 tsp salt to boiling over high heat. Add shrimp. Poach cleaned shrimp for a scant minute or two until pink and cooked firm. Using a slotted spoon, scoop shrimp into the dressing in the large bowl. Leave pot of water boiling on your stove. Add the pork to the pot and poach until no longer pink. Scoop pork out of the water and add to the shrimp and dressing. Leave pot of boiling water on stove—add more water if depleted. (Don’t worry about any bits of pork still in the water.) Add the soaked glass noodles to the boiling water; boil 2 minutes until plumped and translucent. Drain noodles in a colander. Add noodles to the shrimp/pork/dressing. Add matchstick vegetables and cilantro, pulling noodles apart in order to mix better. Transfer to serving bowls. Top with chopped peanuts. Garnish with additional sprinkling of cilantro leaves. Serve hot or at room temperature with lime wedges.
2 Comments
Monica, this looks fantastic, I’m going to give it a try! Where do you find wild caught shrimp? I’m never sure to trust the grocery stores…
Hi Melanie! I go to Fresh Farms International market on Touhy in Niles. They have a fresh fish market. You can get skin/head on shrimp and Texas Gulf shrimp there!