This popular salad of lightly cooked and raw vegetables served with Peanut Sauce is ideal for vegetarians if the shrimp paste is omitted. Adjust the quantities of vegetables as needed.
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Serves 6-8
- 500 g new or waxy potatoes, boiled
- 500 g (1 lb) green beans or 2 bunches snake beans
- 3 carrots, sliced
- 250 g (8 oz) fresh bean sprouts, tails pinched off
- ½ small cabbage, sliced and steamed
- seedless cucumbers, sliced
- firm bean curd, fried and sliced
- hard-boiled eggs, quartered
- Peanut Sauce (page 45)
- crisp-fried shallots
- prawn crackers (optional)
Peel and slice the potatoes into rounds. Trim the beans and cut into bite-sized pieces, then steam or blanch until tender but still crisp. Do the same with the carrots. Blanch the bean sprouts in boiling water for a few seconds. Arrange all the vegetables on a platter, and top with slices of fried bean curd and the hardboiled eggs. Thin the Peanut Sauce with water to a thick pouring consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary, then spoon over the vegetables. Sprinkle with fried shallots and garnish, if liked, with fried prawn crackers. Serve at room temperature. Note: Seedless cucumbers are also known as Lebanese or telegraph cucumbers.