Recipe

September 18, 2015

Tiger Salad

Recipe: The Mission Chinese Food Cookbook

Note: This recipe is delicious with or without mussels, and if you omit them, it’s actually a vegan dish. Just skip steps 2 and 3.

Vinaigrette

Salad

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 shallot, sliced
1½ pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
½ cup white wine or chicken stock
4 cups mixed greens—your choice of mesclun, tatsoi, mizuna, chrysanthemum greens, shredded napa cabbage, and/or pea shoots
2 cups mixed fresh herb leaves, such as Thai basil, parsley, tarragon, dill, and cilantro
3 (8- to 10-“) round sheets fresh rice noodles, homemade (recipe follows) or store-bought
½ English cucumber, peeled and shaved lengthwise into ribbons with a mandoline or vegetable peeler
3 shiso leaves
2 tbsp Chili Oil
1 lime, cut into wedges
1 sheet nori, toasted and crushed into flakes

Yield: Serves 6 as part of a larger meal

Prepare the vinaigrette: Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl with ½ cup water and whisk until blended. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
In a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, heat the olive oil over high heat until it shimmers. Add the garlic and shallot and give them a stir. When they begin to sizzle and smell fragrant, add the mussels. Douse with the wine, cover the pan, and steam the mussels until they open, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the mussels, with their liquor, to a bowl and let cool slightly.
Pluck the mussels out of their shells, discarding any that didn’t open along with the empty shells. Let the mussels cool in their liquor until both reach room temperature. Then add the mussels and liquor to the vinaigrette, stir, and set aside.
Combine the greens and herbs in a large bowl and toss to mix.
Lay a rice noodle sheet on a cutting board or work surface and place a few slices of shaved cucumber in a row down the center. Follow with a large heap of lettuces and herbs and one-third of the mussels. Dress liberally with vinaigrette, then gently roll the noodle sheet up into a cylinder about 2 inches in diameter. (If the noodle won’t stay rolled, remove some filling.) Repeat with the remaining noodle sheets and filling ingredients.
To serve, cut each roll into two or three segments and arrange on a platter. Garnish with the shiso leaves, tearing them into pieces, the chili oil, lime, and toasted nori flakes.

Source:

The Mission Chinese Food Cookbook

Tags: Asian Salad