Chilled Maine Shrimp with Cabbage & Peanuts, Vietnamese-Style

Pick over shrimp, discarding any pieces of shell. Cover and keep chilled until ready to toss the salad.

Slice cabbage into chiffonade (very thin strips), about 1 to 2 inches long, to get 5 to 6 cups. Slice 12 cilantro sprigs (stems and leaves) very thin; reserve remaining sprigs for garnish. Separate and wash lettuce leaves. Keep everything chilled until ready to toss the salad.

Mix vinegar, peanut oil, fish sauce, chile sauce, sugar and ginger in a small bowl. Keep at room temperature for up to 2 hours, or cover and refrigerate if making ahead; let cold dressing come to room temperature before tossing with the salad.

Just before serving, toss the reserved shrimp, cabbage, sliced cilantro, carrot and 6 tablespoons chopped peanuts with the dressing in a large bowl. Arrange the reserved lettuce leaves on a serving platter or in a large, shallow serving bowl. Mound the salad on the lettuce and garnish with the remaining 2 tablespoons peanuts and 8 cilantro sprigs.

Tip: Shrimp is usually sold by the number needed to make one pound. For example, “21-25 count” means there will be 21 to 25 shrimp in a pound. Size names, such as “large” or “extra large,” are not standardized, so to get the size you want, order by the count per pound. Both wild-caught and farm-raised shrimp can damage the surrounding ecosystems when not managed properly. Fortunately, it is possible to buy shrimp that have been raised or caught with sound environmental practices. Look for fresh or frozen shrimp certified by an independent agency, such as the Marine Stewardship Council. If you can’t find certified shrimp, choose wild-caught shrimp from North America—it’s more likely to be sustainably caught.

Notes: Fish sauce is a pungent Southeast Asian condiment made from salted, fermented fish. Find it in the Asian-food section of large supermarkets and in Asian specialty markets. We use Thai Kitchen fish sauce (1,190 mg sodium per tablespoon) in our analyses.

Sambal oelek, a spicy blend of chiles, brown sugar and salt, and Sriracha, a Thai chile sauce, can be found in the Asian section of many large supermarkets and at Asian markets To Make Ahead: Cover and refrigerate the shrimp, salad and dressing in separate containers for up to 1 day. Bring dressing to room temperature before tossing with shrimp and salad.