This is a doctored version of a lime garlic dipping sauce used by Sophear in her parents’ Cambodian cooking. This is also very similar to the thai salad papaya sauce. This salad in particular is like a deconstructed noodle salad piled on top of one another.
- Mince 2-3 cloves of garlic. I like to put more, rather than less…
- Juice 1-2 limes
- Mix the garlic, lime juice, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and splash some Asian fish sauce. The tricky thing here is that it’s all the taste. You might like the whole thing with less fish sauce. If you’re vegetarian, you can opt out the fish sauce for soy sauce… but go lighter with that. If you want it spicy, chop a single thai chilli pepper and toss in, seeds and all. Let it marinade in there. Let the mixture sit as you make the rest of the salad.
- Boil some udon noodles, drain the water, and toss with cold water to stop them from cooking. I keep them in a drain over a bowl to get the last of the water. It’s optional, but I did this to deepen the layers of flavor. Toss the noodles lightly with some tsuyu (store bought is fine and you can get it seaweed, bonito, or shiitake based).
- I julienned some asian cabbage (raw) and tossed with a sprinkle of salt and a small splash of apple cider vinegar. Plate this.
- I tossed some romaine lettuce with salt n’ pepper, balsamic vinaigrette, and olive oil. I piled these greens on top of the cabbage/slaw. Make sure the dressing on this is really light.
- Pile the noodles on top of the greens, pour the lime-garlic mixture on top to taste.
- Top and/or garnish with generous amounts of chopped spicy chorizo (or in this case, also pre-cooked merguez), cilantro, and green onions. If you want it a bit spicier, add a little bit of red onions.
It’s easy, refreshing, and done in under 20 minutes.
