Yam Woon Sen

Pailin Chongchitnant’s selected yam woon sen, titled yum woon sen in her recipe, tosses glass noodles with pork, vegetables and a bright lime dressing. She recalls it as a regular salad in her Thai family home.

The glass noodles are soaked, drained and shortened before boiling. Optional dried shrimp are softened separately, drained and broken into small pieces, while cilantro stems are pounded with garlic and chilies for the dressing.

Palm sugar dissolves into the pounded aromatics before fish sauce and fresh lime juice are stirred in. The selected tomato, white onion and inner celery stalks and leaves wait in the mixing bowl.

The noodles and optional fresh shrimp cook in the same pot of water. Most water is poured away before ground pork cooks in the remaining liquid with a separate spoonful of fish sauce; a little pork cooking liquid joins the salad.

The noodles, meat, vegetables and dressing are tossed together just before serving. The leafy cilantro portion and chopped unsalted roasted peanuts finish the plate, giving the soft noodles a contrast of fresh vegetables and crunch.