Bean Thread Salad (Yum Woon Sen) (recipe)

This salad is very easy to make, and combines the sour, sweet and salty flavors typical of Thai cuisine.

From "Thai Cooking From the Siam Cuisine Restaurant" (North Atlantic Books, 1989).

Pound dried shrimp in a mortar to flatten them into soft, crumbly pieces. (They should still be in relatively whole pieces.) Set aside.

Soak the mung bean thread noodle in water for 1 hour, until soft. Using a strainer to hold the noodles, dip them into boiling for 1 second. Remove and immediately dip into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain well and set aside.

Using a strainer to hold the prawns, boil for 6 seconds until they turn pink. Drain well.

Combine prawns and lime juice in a medium bowl; let stand 1 minute. Add the dried shrimp, noodles, fish sauce, sugar, mush- rooms rooms, celery, green onions and coriander leaves.

Arrange the salad on a bed of lettuce and serve immediately. Per Serving: 105 calories, 5 g protein, 15 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat, 32 mg cholesterol, 912 carbohydrate, 1 g fiber.

From an article by Joyce Jue in the San Francisco Chronicle, 5/29/91.