Vietnamese Shrimp & Quinoa Salad

 

The adaption of quinoa into our regular kitchen rotation has been rather slow. There aren't many quinoa recipes out there that excite me. In fact, quinoa tabbouleh may very well be the only recipe I've tried (and totally love with some fresh feta sprinkled on top and served alongside some hummus and pita). So I am always super excited for recipes like this one that take some of my favorite staples, like shrimp, fish sauce and cucumbers and turns them into something healthy and delicious.

Vietnamese Shrimp & Quinoa Salad

adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients 

For the dressing: 

6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice 

1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil 

1-1/2 tablespoons sugar 

 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus more if desired 

For the salad: 

1/2 pound cooked shrimp, peeled and de-veined 

1 cup quinoa, rinsed (or pre-washed) 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 red bell pepper, cored and cut into thin bite-sized strips 

1 carrot, peeled and shredded 

1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced 

2 scallions, finely chopped 

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

Directions

Add quinoa, salt and 2 cups water to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 12 minutes, until the water is absorbed and quinoa is cooked. Transfer to a serving bowl and let cool. 

Make the dressing by combining the lime juice, Asian fish sauce, vegetable oil, sugar and crushed red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Add shrimp to the dressing and let marinate until ready to assemble the salad. 

Once quinoa is cool, add red bell pepper, carrot, cucumber and scallions to the bowl. Right before serving, add the dressing, shrimp and cilantro and toss well. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt, sugar or crushed red pepper flakes if necessary. Serve cold.

I passed on the shrimp in the recipe and instead, cooked up some of my mom's yummy shrimp marinated in garlic, sugar, fish sauce and crab paste. I prefer my shrimp marinated and grilled/charred for extra flavor. The recipe is very versatile and you can thrown in some of your favorite veggies and herbs, like tomatoes or shredded papaya. This can double as either a side salad with smaller pieces of shrimp or as an entree with larger shrimp or grilled tiger prawns. It is a great recipe that combines all our favorite Vietnamese flavors - super yummy!