Vietnamese Healthy Spaghetti Squash Shrimp Salad

This recipe essentially mirrors the traditional Vietnamese shrimp salad. Most traditional recipes use unripe mango, lotus roots, and papaya. Since cooking with spaghetti squash, I think this vegetable is fantastic not just for the taste but also for the nutrition.  I like All kinds of salads, and this recipe has become one of my favorites.  It is quick to prepare. Shrimp is quick to poach in flavored water. When making salad, choose the medium size shrimp.  However, I invited my friend to join me for dinner, and she bought cooked shrimp from Costco. This shrimp were good and saved a little time for me.  I promise to show how to poach the shrimp for this type of salad in another recipe. Today, I will prepare a simple healthy shrimp salad.
Ingredients:

One 2 lb. spaghetti squash
Ingredients for the salad:
12 jumbo cooked shrimp
1/2 cup julienned carrots
1/2 cup julienned cucumbers
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onions
Ingredients for the dressing:
1/4 cup coconut water
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs sugar
2 tbs fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 fresh chili, sliced

Garnish with:
1/2 cup chopped mints, cilantro, and basil
2 tbs crispy fried shallots
2 tbs chopped roasted peanuts or cashews (your choice)

Directions:
To prepare the spaghetti squash:
Use a fork to prick all over squash.

Place the squash in a pot, cover with water, and bring to boil. Cook squash over medium heat for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool to touch.

Cut squash in half to remove and discard the seeds and the membranes. Use the fork to scrap out the spaghetti strands and set aside.

All the available spaghetti squash strands are not necessary for this recipe. Use only what is wanted and save the remaining spaghetti strands for other recipes.

Use about 3 cups of the spaghetti squash strands to mix with the cucumbers; carrots, red onions and the garnish except the nuts and crispy shallots. Place them in a mixing bowl.

To prepare the dressing:
Mash the garlic and let sit for 10 minutes. For health purposes, this method will bring out the benefits of eating garlic. In a saucepan, add coconut juice, vinegar, and sugar and bring to boil.  Stir to dissolve the sugar. Let cool and add the fish sauce, lemon juice, garlic, and chilli.  If fresh chili is not available, chili flakes can be used or other kinds of hot sauce. Mix well.

To make the fried shallots:
Peel and slice about 3 shallots. Heat about 1/4 cup of oil in a frying pan and fry shallots over low heat until crispy.

Use a slotted spoon to remove shallots and place them on a paper towel to absorb some of the oil. All these crispy shallots are not necessary for this recipe. Use as much as desired and save some for other recipes. Save the cooking oil to flavor some meat or fish. Use this oil to make fried rice.

To assemble the salad:
Add the dressing ingredients to the spaghetti squash. Mix well.  Place on a serving plate topped with cooked shrimp. Sprinkle with peanuts, crispy shallots, and 1/8 tsp black pepper. If desired, sprinkle some reserved herbs on top.