Table Salad
Rau Song
Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Mai Pham's book Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table. Pham also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page.
This recipe originally accompanied Crispy Spring Rolls.
In Vietnam, a table salad is used in two main ways — as an accompaniment to meals in which little pieces of meat and seafood are wrapped in the lettuce and eaten out of hand and as an all-purpose salad. When eaten as a salad, diners tear off a piece of lettuce with some herbs and add to their bowls of rice or noodles, or fold the leaves and herbs into little packets to dip into a sauce. A nice table salad can include any combination of rau ram, Asian basil, red and green perilla and slices of starfruit or green bananas.
• Asian basil, also called Thai or holy basil, has a delicate anise flavor, pointed oval leaves, and purplish stems. Regular (sweet) basil does not make a good substitute, as it's too strong. Rau ram, or Vietnamese coriander, has purple-tinged stems, long, pointed green leaves, and a flavor that's a combination of basil and mint. Red perilla, called shiso in Japanese cooking or beefsteak herb in English, has an anise-like flavor and fuzzy leaves that are deep purple underneath and dark green on top. Green perilla, or Vietnamese balm, has a lemongrass-like flavor and light green leaves with serrated edges. • "Vietnamese herbs are a goldmine of culinary treasure," says Pham. "They're a clean, healthful, and simple way to dress up food." Collectively known as rau thom, raw herbs are a central part of every meal. For an authentic flavor, Pham urges cooks to seek out the more specialized varieties in this recipe. They can be found at Asian markets and sometimes farmers' markets. Or consider growing your own: Nichols Garden Nursery and Richters Herbs are good sources for plants and seeds.
