Instructions: Salads are extremely common in Thailand, accompanying most meals. However most of them are casual affaris, and most do not have a western style dressing; rather the diners use whichever of a variety of dips take their fancy. However a few formal salads do exist, largely as accompaniments to formal dinners, and this one, which could be translated as "great salad" is a typical example.

The actual salad is not particularly important: any suitable mixture of veggies could be used, hence the more usual translation as chefs salad.

However a typical mixture is as follows:

Salad Ingredients Method: Line a serving bowl with the lettuce leaves, then toss the other ingredients and place on the lettuce, garnish with cilantro/coriander leaves, lime leaves, thinly sliced shallots, and julienned spring onions.

Dressing Ingredients Method: In a dry skillet or wok toast the peanuts until light golden brown, allow to cool and crumble (a few sharp blows with the flat of a cleaver should suffice, and avvoid turning them into peanut butter, as the use of a food processor is inclined to).

Toast 2 tablespoons of uncooked long grain rice (either white or brown, to taste), and then when cool, grind to a coarse powder (khao koor).

Combine the ingredients to form the dressing, and place in a small bowl.

Serving: Thai salads are not served dressed, this being left to the diners. If available you could also add a few of the different Thai dips

(nam prik kiga, nam prik kapi are suitable for vegetables, and can be adapted to vegetarian/vegan life styles without serious loss of authenticity).

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