Mango Prawn Salad with Rice Noodles

by Katie Chin, Tastemaker in Residence

TV personality and my gluten-free gal pal Jeannie Mai popped over the other day and we decided to have some fun in the kitchen.  Her friend Jen just found out that she needs to be on a gluten-free diet as well so we whipped up this fresh and light salad gluten-free salad bursting with juicy mango and succulent shrimp. It’s tossed in a sweet, salty, sour and spicy dressing and topped with peanuts. The final touch to this salad is adding flash fried rice noodles which add an amazing gluten-free crunch to this recipe. I like to buy premium Asian chili-garlic sauce (Sambal Oelek) from the gourmet section at Cost Plus World Market.

Ingredients
Dressing
2 tsp peeled and minced fresh galangal or ginger
2 tsp palm sugar or brown sugar
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
2 Tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
1/2 tsp Asian chili-garlic sauce, preferably Sambal Oelek
1/4 cup olive oil or canola oil
1 tsp dark sesame oil

Ingredients
Salad
Vegetable oil for frying
2 oz dried thin rice noodles
16 shelled and deveined medium-sized cooked shrimp
1 cup (165 g) sliced fresh mango
½ cup (52 g) chopped cucumber, peeled and deseeded
½ cup (46 g) chopped red bell pepper
4 Tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)
4 Tbsp crushed roasted peanuts
4 cups (350 g) mixed baby greens

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing.
2. Heat vegetable oil (1-inch) in a wok to 425 degrees F. Fry the noodles, 1/4 at a time, about 5 seconds or until puffed, turning once; Drain on a baking sheet lined with paper towels.
3. In a large bowl, combine shrimp, mango, cucumber, red pepper, coriander leaves, peanuts and rice noodles. Add dressing and toss to combine. Divide the baby greens evenly among four plates. Place salad mixture on top of the baby greens and garnish with more peanuts. Serve immediately.