“I taught a Mexi-Thai Class which ended up being more about South East Asian and Central American flavours. Kevin Ostapek and I had a lot of fun with it. We did green curry chicken tomales, smoked pork tostadas with yellow curry crema, cerdo al pastor and a variation on this tasty salad which combines a lot of my favourite ingredients.” –Eric Hanson
Tamarind Dressing
| 4 | Thai chilies, seeds removed |
| 2 lg spoonfuls | palm sugar syrup |
| 2 lg spoonfuls | infused fish sauce |
| 2 | limes, juiced |
| 1 clove | garlic |
| ½ small | shallot |
| 3 spoonfuls | or to taste, tamarind paste, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes |
Mix all ingredients in a blender until it reaches a uniform consistency, approx 2 minutes. Adjust to taste, consider the sweetness of the sugar, spice from the chilies, sour from the lime, bitter from the tamarind, salty from the fish sauce. I like to taste this dressing with my eyes closed and listen for what it needs.
Daikon Salad
| 1 | white daikon, skin removed |
| cherry tomatoes, sliced in half | |
| bean sprouts, rinsed |
Garnish with
| ½ | lime, squeeze over the salad lastly |
| fresh mint leaves, ripped into little pieces | |
| 3 cloves | garlic, sliced thinly fried |
| fried shallots | |
| 1 pinch | katsuobushi (per salad) |
| crispy fried edamame | |
| salad mix |
For the salad, I use a little vegetable peeler with teeth on it, bought for a dollar in Chinatown, a cheese grater also works, or you could slice it into batons or ribbons. Don’t over-think it, either way it will be good. Once you have the daikon in thin pieces, mix it with some cherry tomatoes and bean sprouts. Then add a spoonful of the dressing over it and mix well, taste a small piece and check the heat and flavour, if you want more, add more. In a small bowl add a pile of salad mix and add the garnishes to your liking.
Serves 4-6.