Lemon Grass With Dried Shrimp And Cashew - {Yum Takrai}

Recipe Ingredients

		Meat from about 1/4 of a fresh coconut
1/3 cup	78ml	Lime juice
3 tablespoons	45ml	Nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
3 tablespoons	45ml	Sugar
8		Lemon grass stalks - (to 10)
3		Shallots
2		Green onions
1/4 cup	59ml	Oil
1/2 cup	118ml	Raw cashews
3 tablespoons	45ml	Dried shrimp
2		Thai chiles - cut small pieces
		Romaine lettuce

Recipe Instructions

Crack the coconut and cut away pieces of the meat, then use a vegetable peeler to make thin (1-inch) strips until you have about one-third cup of thin strips. Toast the coconut strips on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven for 15 to 17 minutes until golden. Remove, cool and set aside.

Combine the lime juice, fish sauce and sugar and let stand while preparing the salad. Taste and add more sugar, if desired.

Cut off the root end of the lemon grass stalks and discard. Use 6 inches of the lower part for the salad. Discard the rest, or save for another use. Remove the coarse outer layers of each stalk. With a very sharp knife, slice the lemon grass stalks crosswise as fine as possible. There should be about 1 1/2 cups sliced lemon grass.

Peel the shallots; quarter them lengthwise, then slice thinly. Trim the root end of the green onions and cut off part of the green end, leaving 1 inch of the green part. Cut the onions in half lengthwise, then slice thinly.

Heat the oil in a small skillet. Fry the cashews until golden, about 50 seconds. Drain on paper towels. Fry the dried shrimp until crisp, about 1 1/2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

In a bowl, combine the cashews, shrimp, lemon grass, shallots and green onions. Just before serving, add the small pieces of Thai chile to the lime juice-fish sauce dressing, pour over the salad and toss well.

Place a large romaine leaf on a serving plate. Spoon the salad onto the leaf. Sprinkle on the coconut strips. Prepare a plate of tender romaine leaves (or the top halves of romaine leaves, center ribs removed).

To eat, use your hands to shape a piece of lettuce into a little cup, spoon salad into the lettuce, wrap and eat.

This recipe yields 4 appetizer servings.

Each serving: 334 calories; 6 grams protein; 30 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 23 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 8 mg. cholesterol; 1,063 mg. sodium.

Source:
The Los Angeles Times, 04-28-2004

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