Long Bean Noodle Salad

I post this Thai and Lao salad to introduce 'Ba Dek' which is salted fish, sour fish, or cured fish. Basically, it is fresh fish that is cleaned and chopped, mixed with salt and rice, and then covered for about 4 days to cure and sour. You can always find this at Asian supermarkets.

In northern Thailand and Laos, green papaya salads are mixed with salted fish. Another reason for posting this video is to show you how to mix vermicelli noodle with green papaya salads and long bean salads.

Since the fibers of long beans are tougher than green papayas, you must crush the long beans with garlic and chilies until they are in small pieces before adding other ingredients.

Salad Recipe: Long Bean Noodle with Ba Dek
4 chilies
1 clove garlic
1 cup long beans chopped into 1 inch lengths
1/4 cup tomato slices
2 tablespoons squeezed lime
2 tablespoons Salted Gourami Fish (ba dek)
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1 teaspoon MSG (optional)
1 to 2 rice noodle bundles (Sin Khao Bune)

Using the Thai / Lao Mortar & Pestle Set, crush chilies and garlic until they are separated. Add chopped long beans and crush with a pestle for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients in the mortar and mix all the ingredients. Cut rice noodles in half, add into mortar, and mix with spoon.