So I was making a cheater's Caesar salad, because I am out of anchovies: I used Thai fish sauce instead, which works fine. And I also substituted sriracha sauce for the more traditional dash of tabasco, because it was easier to find in the fridge.
And that got me thinking:
I am a sucker for a good Caesar salad. I make a good one myself, if I may brag a bit. I think that the Caesar salad is one of the classic blends of flavors and textures, perfectly balanced: fruity olive oil, bright lemon, snappy garlic, spicy tabasco and mustard and black pepper, the twin fermenty flavors of anchovy and parmesan. All on the blank but crispy background of Romaine lettuce. With good bread for croutons, what more would you want?
But putting the sriracha and fish sauce in made me think:
You could substitute lime for the lemon, too. You could substitute crispy rice noodles for the croutons. You could maybe put a few shrimp in there instead of the whole anchovies. You could make a Southeast-Asian inspired Caesar salad!
The only thing that wouldn't work very well is the Parmesan. But perhaps for that fetid-fermenty flavor you could use a spoon or two of those fermented black beans that come in a jar?
What do you think?
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