Called laphet thoke in Burmese, this is a highly unusual composed salad that's absolutely delicious. This recipe has been adapted from Desmond Tan and Kate Leahy’s Burma Superstar (Ten Speed Press, 2017)
Course: Salad
Ingredients
Quick Tea-Leaf Dressing
3tablespoonsloose green tea leaves,such as sencha or Dragonwell
3cupsjust-boiled water
1garlic clove,coarsely chopped
1tablespooncoarsely chopped peeled ginger
½teaspoonfine sea salt
½teaspoonfish sauce(optional, for a bit of funk)
¼cupfried garlic oil(from above), or canola or peanut oil
1 ½teaspoondistilled white vinegar,or 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Salad
5 to 6packed cups(8.5 oz) thinly sliced crisp lettuce (Romaine, Little Gem), or cabbage (green or Napa)
1teaspoonfish sauce,or 2 or 3 pinches fine sea salt
1cupdiced tomatoes(Roma, early girl, or cherry)
¼cupchopped,seeded moderately-hot chile (1 large, or 2 small Fresno, jalapeño, or long chiles)
3 to 4tablespoonsfried garlic chips(recipe above)
¼ to ½cupunsalted roasted peanuts,finely chopped (use more if not using fried legume)
¼cuproasted chickpeas,soynuts, or fried yellow split peas (optional)
¼cuproasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds
1tablespoontoasted sesame seeds
2tablespoonsdried shrimp powder(optional)
1whole juicy lime,quartered
Instructions
To make the dressing, steep the tea leaves in hot water for 3 minutes. Drain well, pressing out excess water. (Feel free to drink the tea.) Cool the leaves to room temperature. (Alternatively, in batches, put the tea through 1 or 2 steepings over the course of days and refrigerate the leaves till you’re ready to make dressing.)
In a small food processor, whirl the garlic, ginger, and salt to a minced state. Add the tea leaves and whirl to a fine texture. Add the oil, vinegar, and fish sauce, then pulse to combine. You should have a scant ½ cup.
To assemble salad, make a bed of lettuce on a rimmed serving platter. Drizzle on the fish sauce or sprinkle on the salt. Like flower petals, arrange piles of tomatoes, chile, fried garlic, peanuts, roasted chickpeas, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and shrimp powder. Scrape the dressing into the center. At the table, squirt on half of the lime wedges and toss the salad. If diners want more tartness, let them add extra lime juice.