Squash Spaghetti Seafood Salad

Among all the Asian salad dishes, the papaya salad with shrimp and meat or beef jerky is very popular for an appetizer at any potluck party. However, to create this salad, one has to shop most of the ingredients in an Asian grocery market. It is hard to find the green papaya to make this salad. I am one of these unfortunate people because I do not live near an Asian market. Therefore, I use the spaghetti squash to substitute for papaya. Of course, it does not taste like the papaya flavor, but it will become a good treat for Westerner guests who visit and I believe it will be a good fit. In addition, this easy salad recipe uses seafood packages sold in the market. This easy seafood salad does not just save time and money, but it is also a healthy salad to enjoy often.

Ingredients:
Salad ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash
1 cup cucumber slices
1 cup cherry tomato slices
1 cup sliced red onions or 2 shallots
2 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup mints, chopped
1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Seafood ingredients:
Cooked combo seafood

Piece of ginger, mashed
2 green onions, cut into sections
Dressing ingredients:
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs lime juice
2 tbs sugar
2 fresh Thai hot chilies

Directions:
Use a fork to poke a few holes around the squash and place in a pot of water. Cover and bring to boil. Simmer for 30 minutes.

 Let cool. Remove the seeds and scrape out the flesh. Drain the squash spaghetti until completely dry.

To make the dressing:
Place all the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Stir well. Adjust the seasoning to your liking. It means the dressing tastes sweet, salty and sour for this combination. The hot chilies are advised.

To make the seafood:
Bring a pot of water to boil. Add some salt, oil. ginger, and onion. Simmer for 10 minutes and add seafood.

 Blanch the seafood for a few minutes (just enough to mingle some flavors). Do the same way to cook fresh seafood, if used. Drain

To serve:
Place squash “spaghetti” on the bottom of a serving plate. Arrange the rest of the salad ingredients around the spaghetti. Top with seafood and drizzle the salad dressing over salad. Also serve more dressing on the side.

 

 

Some chopped roasted peanuts can be served with this salad.