Tangy Salad Boats

tangy salad boats

These tangy salad boats are my simple interpretation of a typical snack from Laos and Thailand called Mieng Kham (which means 'one bite wrap'). I had them years ago traveling but was remind of how delicious they are at recent lunch meeting in Berkeley. Over a super interesting discussion about labor conditions in agriculture with a researcher from UC Berkeley we devoured something very similar to this as a starter. As soon as I got home I began experimenting and came up with this recipe, which I hope you love as much as I do! I find these tangy salad boats are perfect as a light starter to share. They also make a great meal on their own and are surprisingly filling. After I started making these I was inspired to try out tonnes of different versions of salad boats, which have now become my go to healthy snack. Basically it just involves taking any salad and instead of putting it on a bed of lettuce, placing it inside individual salad boats. So far greek salad in a boat is one of my favorites! I’ll share some more of my experiments soon, but for now I hope you enjoy making these! Love Michelle xo

Tangy Salad Boats

Prep time: 10 mins | Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 4 Serves (as a starter)

These tangy salad boats are great as a refreshing starter to share or as a surprisingly filling meal for one.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp Dessicated or Shredded Coconut

• 1/3 Cup Salted Cashews OR Peanuts (roughly chopped)

• 1 heaped teaspoon Fresh Ginger (peeled and then finely grated)

• 1 heaped teaspoon Red Onion or Shallots (finely chopped)

• ½ Lime (peeled then chopped into small chunks)

• 1 heaped teaspoon Lemongrass (very finely chopped)

• 1 heaped teaspoon Fresh Mint Leaves (finely chopped)

• 8-10 Leaves Mini Romaine Lettuce or Large Spinach Leaves (or any other greens that you can use as a boat / vessel for the filling)

Sauce

• 1 Tablespoon Tamarind Paste

• 1 Tablespoon Natural Peanut Butter

• 1 Tablespoon Tamari Sauce (or Soy Sauce)

• 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

Instructions

1. Peel off the romaine lettuce leaves, trim the bottoms and wash each one. Shake off the excess water or dry them with a paper towel or salad spinner and then arrange in a circle on the serving dish.

2. Take a small mixing bowl. Add the coconut, chopped nuts, grated ginger (including any juice produced when grating it), finely chopped shallots or onions, chopped lime chunks, finely chopped lemongrass and fresh mint. Mix with a spoon until all ingredients are well combined and evenly distributed. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. To make the sauce: place tamarind paste, peanut butter, tamari and apple cider vinegar into a small bowl and mix until well combined. Alternatively place in a small jar, place the lid on and then shake until well combined. Put the sauce in a small serving dish and place in the gap in the center of the lettuce leaves.

4. Before serving, use a teaspoon to spoon the filling into each of the lettuce boats.

5. Serve with a small spoon so that you can scoop a few spoonfuls of sauce on the top of each wrap before eating it.