Food & Wine USA - (05)May 2020

66 MAY 2020

H

A

N

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B

O

O

K Bruised Cabbage-and-Herb

Salad with Spicy Fish Sauce

Dressing

ACTIVE 15 MIN; TOTAL 30 MIN

SERVES 4

Yes, you can (and should) make salad in a

mortar. When hardy vegetables like cab-

bage are lightly crushed in a tall Thai-style

clay mortar with a long wooden pestle,

they are tenderized just enough to yield a

pleasingly soft crunch. Serve this salad

alongside grilled or roasted fish or chicken

and steamed jasmine rice. If you don’t

own a clay mortar, pulse the ginger, garlic,

chile, and sugar into a paste using a food

processor, then transfer the paste to a

bowl, and work it into the cabbage using a

wooden spoon or your hands.

3 thin slices (about the size of a

quarter) peeled fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves

1 fresh Thai chile or^1 / 2 serrano chile,

stemmed, seeded, and sliced

1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

6 cups packed shredded green

cabbage (from 1 medium head)

1 cup loosely packed soft fresh herbs

(such as Thai basil, cilantro, and

mint)

2 Tbsp. Vietnamese fish sauce

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

3 Tbsp. coarsely chopped dry-

roasted peanuts

Fried shallots, for serving

Using a kruk, pound ginger, garlic, chile,

and sugar to a fine paste, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add cabbage and herbs; pound until cab-

bage is slightly softened and crushed and

flavor of herbs is released, about 30 sec-

onds. Add fish sauce and lime juice, and

toss with pestle and a spoon until evenly

combined. Let mixture stand at room

temperature 15 minutes. Serve salad

topped with peanuts and fried shallots.

Known as a

kruk, this tall

clay mortar is

used in

Southeast Asia

for making fresh

salads like

papaya salad.

($50,

amazon.com)

FW_0520_Handbook.indd 66 FINAL 3/17/20 3:49 PM