Thai Squid Salad with Spicy Lime Dressing

A salad should be fun to eat. Light & fresh with fruits & veggies and spices & herbs, and a zesty, citrus dressing.  The kind of salad you can find in Thailand or Vietnam, along the beach on a lazy, humid afternoon.  Not an appetizer – more like a snack to go with a cool beer.  A seafood salad with grilled prawns or blanched squid. 


Yeah, a Thai Squid Salad with Spicy Ginger-Lime Dressing. 

For this squid salad, first pick a fruit – green mango, papaya, or pomelo.  A few of the tropical fruits commonly added to Thai and Vietnamese squid salads.  But if you don’t have one of them in the kitchen, just shred a tart green apple instead, like I did for this recipe.  Then toss in veggies like lettuce, cucumber, onion, and a handful of juicy cherry tomatoes.


Chop up some fresh herbs & spices to brighten the flavors, such as lemongrass, cilantro, kaffir lime leaves, and green or red chili peppers.  Blanch the squid pieces – or grill them – and mix into the salad.  Finally, top with cilantro and crushed peanuts, and drizzle with the spicy ginger-lime dressing.


Then sit down and relax with your feet up on a chair, and enjoy every bite of this healthy, flavorful, tropical, Thai squid salad.

Thai Squid Salad with Spicy Ginger-Lime Dressing
Ingredients: 
300g of squid – cut into rings
5 cups water
1 small green apple - shredded thinly
Half a yellow onion – cut into thin rings or chopped roughly
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes – halved
1 stalk lemongrass – white bulbous end, chopped finely
2 kaffir lime leaves (1 leaf = 2 segments) – sliced thinly
1 cup lettuce - shredded
1 fresh green chili or red chili - sliced
2 Thai bird’s eye chilies (optional) – sliced
Fresh cilantro leaves
1-2 tbsp roasted peanuts – crushed


Spicy Ginger-Lime Dressing: 
1/4 cup lime juice or lemon juice
1 tsp freshly grated ginger (preferably young ginger)
2 tsp fish sauce, or pinch of salt to taste
2 tsp raw sugar
Generous dash of ground black pepper

Method:
1. Combine the ingredients for the ginger-lime dressing, then set aside.
2. Prepare the fruit, vegetables, and spices & herbs, and arrange the salad on a plate.
3. In a pot, bring the water to a boil, then drop in the squid for a quick blanch. Be careful not to overcook the squid as you do not want tough and rubbery squid. It should take just about 30 seconds or until the squid flesh turns opaque and curls up slightly. Remove the squid from the boiling water, and run under cold water to stop them from cooking.
4. Add the blanched squid to the salad. Drizzle in the ginger-lime dressing, then lightly toss everything together. Garnish with cilantro and crushed peanuts.