Collard Green Stem Salad

I believe in not wasting food. The last time I had a dinner party, I used leafy part of collard greens for Miang Kum and I have all these fibery stems left. I remember eating the soft part of the stems in a salad in Thailand. They were crunchy and delicious. I looked all over the internet for the recipe but I couldn't find one. So I kind of made one up.



The dish came out not bad although not exactly what I remember eating in Thailand. It also required a lot of work. I spent almost an hour picking through the stems, and cutting off the tough outer part. The result is indeed delicious - crunchy, a bit nutty and earthy and refreshing. I'll make it again if I use collard greens for other dishes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of collard green stems - trimmed, cut out the rough fibery outer part and sliced into about 1 inch long


• 1/4 cup of ground beef or other kind of meat


• 1 tablespoon cooking oil


• 3 shallots - chopped


• 1 tablespoon Nam Prik Pao - chilli paste in soy bean oil


• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes


• 1 lime


• About 2 teaspoon of fish sauce

Directions

1. Cook the ground beef on a stove top with a tablespoon of cooking oil.


2. In a large bowl, toss the cooked meat, collard green stems, chopped shallots together.


3. In a small bowl, dissolve chilli paste and red pepper flakes in lime juice and fish sauce. Pour over the salad. Toss well. And serve immediately.