I wasn't a huge fan of this salad. I find glass noodles can be pretty hit-or-miss for me. And I think this preparation was more miss than hit. I mean, they were okay they just weren't great. I think I probably prefer my bean noodles in soups rather than as a salad in general.

That said, the Kidlet liked these. And they weren't bad, just not my favourite.

Glass Noodle Salad with Chicken and Shrimp

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 150g bean thread noodles
• 1/2 c. chicken stock
• 200g ground chicken
• 2 green onions³, greens and whites separated and chopped
• 150g shrimp, peeled and deveined
• juice of 2 limes
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. nam prik pao (Thai roasted chile paste)¹
• 2 large red Fresno chilies², seeded and minced
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint
• 2-3 Tbsp. fried shallots (or onions)
• red or green leaf lettuce, to serve
• 老干妈 (Laoganma/spicy chili crisp), to serve (optional)

Directions

1. Soak the noodles in cold water for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil and add the chicken and white parts of the green onions.
3. Cook, breaking up the chicken, until meat is cooked through.
4. Remove the chicken and green onions with a slotted spoon and set aside.
5. Add the shrimp and simmer until cooked through (~1 minute).
6. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
7. Add water to the pot with the broth until the pot is at least half full and bring to a boil.
8. Drain the noodles and add to the boiling water.
9. Boil until tender (1-2 minutes).
10. Drain noodles and rise thoroughly with cold water.
11. Combine the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, nam prik pao, and chilies in a large bowl and mix well.
12. Add the chicken and shrimp and toss to combine.
13. Add the noodles and toss to coat.
14. Add the cilantro, mint, and green parts of the green onions and toss to combine.
15. Top with fried shallots (or onions).
16. Serve on a bed of lettuce and top with Laoganma (if using).

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¹ The original recipe just called for "roasted chile paste" and didn't specify what kind. That could plausibly be any number of things! 辣豆瓣酱 (là dòubàn jiàng/Sichuan spicy bean paste), gochujiang (Korean red chile paste)... possibly even red curry paste or chipotle chile paste. Based on the rest of the recipe and the other ingredients, I'm pretty confident that they wanted nam prik pao for this, but I wish they'd been explicit about that in the instructions! Also, I didn't have any nam prik pao on hand, so I ended up substituting gochujang instead. ^Back
2 I couldn't find any Fresno chiles, so I just minced a jalapeño and tossed it in instead. I used only one, since jalapeños tend to be a bit hotter than Fresnos. That said, the overall dish was still pretty mild, so I think it would have been fine to use two. Maybe I'll add another jalapeño and/or a bell pepper to the leftovers... ^Back
3 The original recipe only calls for 1 green onion and that's all I used, but, having tasted it, I really think it would be better with more. Acutally... Now that I think of it, I think putting one in with the chicken and the rest at the end would be excellent! Or maybe, put the whites with the chicken and save the greens as a garnish for the end... Yes! Brb, updating recipe. ^Back