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As much as I like to stir-fry vegetables, it can get old some days. Spinach is always in our refrigerator and I just need some new idea to make it refreshing and yet delicious at the same time. I grew up eating a lot of cooked vegetables and that’s common in our house (and to most Asians if I may say so). The idea of eating salad wasn’t the exciting to me at the beginning because I just wasn’t used to eating raw lettuce, raw tomatoes, raw spinach, raw watercress, and so on and so forth. Of course after living here for a long while, I love eating both raw and cooked vegetables (yay!).
This tomato and spinach salad is a combination of raw and cooked vegetables with some Asian twist. Honestly speaking, the toppings make this salad dish very delicious. I tried to make it as simple as possible with ingredients that can be easily found for most people so they can too whip this up without much trouble. I love this tomato and spinach salad, the dried shrimp and the peanuts are such good complements to the vegetables!! Try it and you’ll be impressed.
TOMATO AND SPINACH SALAD
Ingredients
- 1 large tomato (cut into small dices)
- 1 lb spinach (washed and trim of tough stems)
- ½ cup of peanuts
- ½ cup of good quality medium-size dried shrimps
Toppings:
- 2 Tbsp of fried shallots crisp (available at Asian grocery store)
- 1 Tbsp of oil
- 1 tsp of fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp of the dried shrimp powder
- 1 Tbsp of chopped peanuts
- Small pinch of salt to taste
- Small pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
Instructions
Prepare the peanuts and dried shrimps:
- Soak the dried shrimps in warm water for about 5 minutes. Rinse off water and pat dry with paper towel. Preheat a small skillet on high heat without any oil. Add in the dried shrimp and saute until fragrant and dried up further, about 5 minutes. Let them cool down. Place into a food processor and process into fine shreds. Set aside
- Rinse the skillet with clean water. Preheat on fire again. Add in the peanuts and stir to roast the peanuts, but don't burn them, about 3-4 minutes. Let them cool and chop coarsely on the food processor. Set aside
Prepare the salad:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add in the spinach and cook for about 3 minutes. The spinach should be just wilted but not entirely mushy. Drain off the water and use spatula to press the water out. Set aside
- When ready to serve the salad, place the spinach in a bowl. Add in all the toppings and toss to mix everything. Ready to serve
Marv's Recipe Notes
