Seafood Salad East & West

Here are 2 versions of seafood salad that I made over the last 2 days which are perfect for summer. Delicious & so easy to throw together.



The internet's abuzz with cold noodles this summer. And the Dutchess made some too.

Time for me to revive this old recipe which I had not done in a while. You can use whatever seafood you have on hand - fish, prawn, calamari or crab meat. Make sure they are cooked first before tossing into the salad.

You would need to soak the vermicelli in boiling water till it's soft. Taste it to make sure it's cooked. The first time I did this, the water wasn't hot enough so the vermicelli was not cooked through and I made the mistake of tossing it with the rest of the ingredients without tasting- too late to salvage.

The Dutchess even suggests chilling it first before serving. Good idea. But I think it's best to do it before adding the dressing else the vermicelli might soak it all up. Even The Girl gobbled this up. I didn't think she was going to like this so I made her something else. Well she ate half my salad.


Thai Seafood Salad
serves 4

200g vermicelli
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp peanut oil
handful of chopped roasted peanuts
2 scallions, sliced thinly
fresh coriander (I left this out)
red chillies, sliced thinly
prawns, squid, crabmeat, fish fillet - cut into bite size

1. Soak noodles in boiling water till soft. Taste to make sure they are cooked. Drain then set aside. Cut with scissors into small strands

2. Cook seafood. Boil pot of hot water - throw in squid, when they start to float to the top, they are cooked (about 1 min), remove, run under cold water & set aside. If you over cook, it will become tough. Do the same for the prawns. After they are done, remove heads & shells.

3. Whisk garlic, fish sauce, lime juice & oil in a large salad bowl

4. Add noodles to bowl with nuts, scallions, coriander, chillies and seafood. Toss gently to combine

5. Serve with glass of rose wine & finish off with dessert of peach sorbet. The perfect summer meal. Depending on the portion, this can be a starter or a main course.

The next day I still had squid & prawns leftover & as much as I was tempted to prepare the same thing since The Girl ate half of mine, the urge to try something different was greater. So I decided to do something a little more Western.


Recognise the same salad bowl. I took out some baby squid from the freezer, added mini macaroni (do your children like anything miniature too ?), threw in some greens & came up with another refreshing seafood salad.

Seafood Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Mini macaroni or any small pasta shapes
Prawns, Squids or Crab Meat
Selection of greens

Dressing
Mix together olive oil, lemon juice, salt, black pepper & a pinch of red chilli flakes. Refrigerate until ready to use.

1. Cook pasta as per packet. Drain & set aside

2. Cook seafood. Boil pot of hot water - throw in squid, when they start to float to the top, they are cooked (about 1 min), remove, run under cold water & set aside. If you over cook, it will become tough. Do the same for the prawns. After they are done, remove heads & shells

3. Toss seafood, greens, pasta & dressing together

4. Serve with a glass of your favorite white wine

And which do I prefer ? They are both delicious & refreshing but I think I'm leaning towards the Thai seafood salad.