This is the recipe for the “Thai-inspired” Caesar salad that our neighbor showed us, which we served at our recent Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 Chinese New Year dinner.
“Thai-Inspired Caesar salad”
Ingredients for Salad
2 hearts of Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cup chopped cilantro
4 hard-boiled egg whites, chopped
Fried won ton noodles
cubed chicken breast (optional)
Ingredients for Dressing
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp Italian dressing1 tsp finely minced garlic
4 hard-boiled egg yolks
1 Tbsp peanut butter
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1/4 cup water
2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1 Tbsp sugar (to taste)
Method:
1. Thinly slice half a white onion and marinate it with the Italian dressing.
2. Hard boil 4 eggs. When cooked, cool, drain, then peel the eggs. Cut them in half and separate the yolks from the whites. (Chop the whites up and add them to the salad.)
3. Mash the egg yolks in a bowl.
4. Add the garlic, peanut butter, mayonnaise, water, fish sauce, and Italian dressing. Stir well to combine. It should be a smooth sauce, with very little lumps.
5. Add the marinated onions to the dressing.
6. Add in the sugar, a little at a time, until it reaches the desired balance of sweet to tart. (We used white sugar, but palm sugar from Thailand would also work.)
When ready to serve, lightly toss the lettuce, egg whites and fried won ton noodles together with the dressing, then plate up.
Thai-Inspired Caesar Salad
What I like about this dressing is that you can customize it to your tastes. It is nice and garlicky but it also has the added peanut element, not to mention the fish sauce that replaces the Worcestershire in the original recipe.
Aloha, Nate
>That looks like a really delicious salad, and a great option for serving vegetarians and non-vegetarians at the same meal.
>@all – yes, the peanut butter is surprisingly good in this sauce. I (and our neighbor) would be so thrilled to know that this recipe is being enjoyed all over!
@Brooke – I don’t see a problem with making your own vinaigrette, as long as you can find that balance of herbs, tartness, and sweetness. Let us know what you come up with!
@Trini – the fried wonton noodles come pre-fried in a package at the grocery store. You see it in the Asian aisle, part of the fixings for “Chinese Chicken Salad”.
>OOOoooo that sounds tasty.
>Oh, coolio. Interesting with mashing the egg yolks as part of the dressing. We don’t usually have Italian dressing on hand, so I may have to think of something else for that component. Have bookmarked/clipped this. Will definitely try!
>@ts – do let us know how it turns out for you!