I got this from a site www.lowcarb.ca/karen/ . Karen's recipes are not always low fat but are wonderful indulgences for special occasion foods and creative inspiration. I've modified her recipe a bit.
Viet-Thai Salad
Makes 6 servings
"The Lao women that I used to work with in Toronto made this salad for lunch. As the salad was tossed, they would lightly squeeze the ingredients together, which would infuse the dressing into the lettuce and give is a softer texture. One of them called it "Diet Salad". When I asked why, she said that it was because it was eaten with meat as an alternative to rice. I guess she was on to something!
Fish sauce is the salty liquid condiment used extensively in Southeast Asian cooking. Well stocked grocery stores and Oriental supermarkets carry it, but you can use salt in its place. " (Karen)
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery hearts
2 green onions, cut in half lengthwise, then cut into 1-inch pieces
16 sprigs cilantro, leaves only
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, sliced into ribbons
1 medium tomato, cut in half and cut into very thin slices
1/2 cup thinly sliced English cucumber
1 head Romaine lettuce, inner leaves only
1 head butter lettuce, inner leaves only (opt)
1 bunch watercress, large stems removed (opt)
2 hard cooked eggs, whites and yolks separated (I left the eggs off)
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. Splenda
5 Tbsp. lemon Juice
1 Tsp. fish sauce
Combine the celery, green onion, cilantro, mint, tomato, cucumber, lettuce and watercress. Thinly slice the egg whites and add to the mix.
(I combined the ingredients for the dressing without cooking the garlic. It was still delicious.)
Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until the garlic turns pale gold. Remove from the heat and let cool. Mash the egg yolks. Add the Splenda, lemon juice and fish sauce. Beat in the garlic and oil. Toss with the salad, (this is the key) lightly pressing the ingredients together.
