Thai lettuce-cucumber salad with lime and chili

A salad can be super simple and super delicious. This salad is essentially an assembly job, but the flavors are bright and beautiful.

This salad stays true to Thai flavours: spicy, tart, and full of herbs. The fresh vegetables add the perfect crunch, and the dressing brings the salad alive. This salad is the perfect start to a meal; it pops on the palate and brings the rest of the meal alive without filling up your guests.

This is one of those cookbooks that I looked at for a long time and finally decided to get. It is a wonderful cookbook filled with flavours from across the globe. Each recipe turns out superb but be prepared to get many new ingredients on your shelf and spend some time in the kitchen. I highly recommend this book to those looking for different flavours.

For more delicious recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lime

A few drops of fish sauce

1/2 tablespoon ginger paste

1/2-1 Thai chilli, finely minced

1/2-1 teaspoon sugar

Salt, to taste

1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the salad:

1/2 cup thinly sliced onion

1 large or 2 Persian cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced into half-moons

! small white radish or 4 red radishes, thinly sliced

1 head red or green lettuce, thinly shredded

1 cup cilantro

1/2 cup mint

Combine all the ingredients for the dressing and allow to marinate for 1 hour so the spiciness from the chilli infuses the dressing.

Toss all the ingredients for the salad and store chilled in the fridge till needed.

Right before serving, toss the salad again. Add the half dressing and toss well. Serve garnished with Thai chilli and the remaining dressing on the side for those who would like more.

Note: The salad will wilt over time due to the acid in the dressing, so please toss the dressing into the salad right before you serve it.