As promised, here’s the bean sprout salad recipe to accompany the recently-posted Thai-style pork patties. We adapted Cook’s Illustrated’s original recipe by adding more vegetables and some sesame oil and leaving out the chopped peanuts. It’s a ridiculously easy dish — just toss together bean sprouts, green onions, carrots, cucumber and cilantro with a mixture of vegetable and sesame oil, lime juice, brown sugar, sriracha and salt & pepper. The result is a fresh, slightly spicy and flavorful salad that would go well with pretty much any Asian-style main course. Or you could make it a meal on its own by adding leftover pork, chicken or shrimp for a filling lunch or even a light summer supper.
Make the dressing first to give the flavors a little time to come together. Combine vegetable and sesame oil, lime juice, brown sugar, sriracha and salt & pepper in a small bowl and whisk it all together until the brown sugar is fully dissolved. The sriracha is what gives the salad a spicy kick, so add more (or less) depending on the level of heat you prefer. If you’ve never cooked with it, sriracha is available in the Asian section of most grocery stores and is a versatile chili sauce commonly used in a lot of Asian recipes or as a condiment. A little bottle will last a long time and is a good staple to keep in your fridge if you do any Asian cooking (or eating) at home.
Slice the carrot, cucumber and green onions (green parts only) into thin strips and add them and the chopped cilantro to a bowl with the bean sprouts. Mix all the veggies together.
Slowly add the dressing to the veggies and toss them together until the salad is dressed to your liking.
Aaaaand serve. Told you it was easy. It’s also pretty on the plate and a healthy and delicious way to round out a home-cooked Asian meal.
Bean Sprout Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- pinch each of salt & pepper
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- 1 carrot, peeled & thinly sliced
- ½ a cucumber, peeled & thinly sliced
- 4 green onions, sliced thin on the bias (green parts only)
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
Directions:
- To make the dressing, combine the vegetable and sesame oils, lime juice, sriracha, brown sugar and salt & pepper in a small bowl and whisk the ingredients together until the brown sugar is fully dissolved.
- Combine the bean sprouts, carrot, cucumber, green onions and cilantro in another bowl and toss the veggies together. Slowly add the dressing and toss until the salad is dressed to your liking.