We love this bright, healthy main-dish salad for a quick weeknight dinner when we’re in the mood for something on the lighter side.
This dish is especially easy to put together when you have a stash of frozen shrimp at the ready. Just defrost them according to package directions. Use any combination of vegetables that you have on hand — it’s a great way to use up what’s in your vegetable drawer. Any mix of leafy salad greens and crunchy vegetables is ideal.
We love the no-fuss technique of roasting the shrimp in the oven. Clean up is easy, and you can assemble the rest of the salad ingredients and the dressing in the time it takes to preheat the oven and roast the shrimp.
Prepared curry paste (which you can get at any well-stocked supermarket) is featured in both the marinade for the shrimp, as well as in the dressing. Red, green or yellow varieties of curry paste all work well and add great depth of flavour.
Thai Shrimp Salad
Serves 4
Ingredients:
½ cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons red, yellow or green curry paste
1 tablespoon fish sauce
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound peeled, deveined medium shrimp (21-25 shrimp per pound)
Dressing:
¼ cup lime juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon coconut milk
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon curry paste
1 chile pepper, such as Thai Bird’s Eye, stemmed, seeded and finely minced
Salad:
8 to 10 cups roughly chopped butter or Little Gem lettuce, sugar snap peas, sliced cucumbers and blanched green beans, or vegetables of your choice
Roughly chopped fresh mint and cilantro
Thinly sliced chiles (optional)
Directions:
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine the coconut milk, curry paste, fish sauce, lime juice and salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and marinate for 15 to 20 minutes while the oven heats.
Once the oven is hot, drizzle the baking sheet lightly with oil, then add the shrimp in a single layer. Roast for 6 to 8 minutes until the shrimp are pink, opaque and just cooked through.
While the shrimp are roasting, whisk together the salad dressing ingredients, then taste and adjust the flavors as needed.
Toss the lettuce and vegetables with the dressing. Top the salad with the roasted shrimp, garnish with chopped cilantro, mint and thinly sliced chiles and serve.
