With the last two posts being shortbread and sausage rolls, I thought (under pressure from the healthy eating police) I had better look for recipes that have a little less guilt attached to them.
The same deliciousness (who can beat a sausage roll?) but also nutritious and fresh to boot.
Armed with my encyclopaedia of world cuisines, there was only one place to start - Southeast Asia, and especially Vietnam.
I have made a few Vietnamese dishes before, including salads, and their use of fresh vegetables and fruit, different textures and minimal use of dairy produce certainly fits the bill.
This recipe was discovered in a book 'My Street Food Kitchen' by Jennifer Joyce and apart from a couple of tweaks, the recipe is basically the same.
Making a Vietnamese salad is the culinary equivalent of painting a Jackson Pollock. So many colours, textures and tastes on the plate that force you to be creative. And they are a great way to learn about the balance of flavours in food.
In this salad, sweet, sour, salty, bitter and spicy are all there in differing amounts and getting the balance right with so much going on is a real pleasure for a cook. The recipe should be used only as a guide and you can be as adventurous as you like.
If you are making this recipe for someone who doesn't do spicy (as I do) then cut back on the chilli. If you want sweeter, then add a bit more sugar. Salty? A bit more fish sauce. Sour? A bit more lime juice. Fragrance comes from fresh herbs such as mint and coriander. Get the idea? It's all about the balance and taste to suit you.
Using salmon is another nod to the healthy end of the ingredients spectrum, and caramelising it is again that play on taste and texture. Adding a handful of toasted cashews or peanuts along with a good sprinkling of toasted desiccated coconut gives a sweet nutty crunch to compliment the softness of the salmon and ripe mango.
GRUMPY RANT…….Why are all ‘ripe and ready to eat’ packaged fruits from supermarkets usually harder than kryptonite and take weeks to ripen!
The one thing I would implore you to make to go with this salad, even though it is a little bit extra work, is some fried shallots & garlic. This garnish will transform your meal giving little explosions of salty, nutty crunch with each mouthful. To save time, just make in advance and keep in an airtight container. I’ve also been known to scoff these on their own and had to make some more. My labrador dog has more willpower than me!
But it’s all yin and yang on the plate, great fun to make, and exciting to eat.
It even made me forget about sausage rolls for a couple of hours!
The same deliciousness (who can beat a sausage roll?) but also nutritious and fresh to boot.
Armed with my encyclopaedia of world cuisines, there was only one place to start - Southeast Asia, and especially Vietnam.
I have made a few Vietnamese dishes before, including salads, and their use of fresh vegetables and fruit, different textures and minimal use of dairy produce certainly fits the bill.
This recipe was discovered in a book 'My Street Food Kitchen' by Jennifer Joyce and apart from a couple of tweaks, the recipe is basically the same.
Making a Vietnamese salad is the culinary equivalent of painting a Jackson Pollock. So many colours, textures and tastes on the plate that force you to be creative. And they are a great way to learn about the balance of flavours in food.
In this salad, sweet, sour, salty, bitter and spicy are all there in differing amounts and getting the balance right with so much going on is a real pleasure for a cook. The recipe should be used only as a guide and you can be as adventurous as you like.
If you are making this recipe for someone who doesn't do spicy (as I do) then cut back on the chilli. If you want sweeter, then add a bit more sugar. Salty? A bit more fish sauce. Sour? A bit more lime juice. Fragrance comes from fresh herbs such as mint and coriander. Get the idea? It's all about the balance and taste to suit you.
Using salmon is another nod to the healthy end of the ingredients spectrum, and caramelising it is again that play on taste and texture. Adding a handful of toasted cashews or peanuts along with a good sprinkling of toasted desiccated coconut gives a sweet nutty crunch to compliment the softness of the salmon and ripe mango.
GRUMPY RANT…….Why are all ‘ripe and ready to eat’ packaged fruits from supermarkets usually harder than kryptonite and take weeks to ripen!
The one thing I would implore you to make to go with this salad, even though it is a little bit extra work, is some fried shallots & garlic. This garnish will transform your meal giving little explosions of salty, nutty crunch with each mouthful. To save time, just make in advance and keep in an airtight container. I’ve also been known to scoff these on their own and had to make some more. My labrador dog has more willpower than me!
But it’s all yin and yang on the plate, great fun to make, and exciting to eat.
It even made me forget about sausage rolls for a couple of hours!
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INGREDIENTS serves 4
Dressing
Fried shallots & garlic garnish
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METHOD
Most of this recipe can be done in advance, which gives you plenty of time to bore your guests with facts about Asian food (like I do), even if you've never been there! METHOD To make the fried shallots and garlic, take a wide saucepan and pour in about 2cm of oil. Heat over a medium heat. Mix the finely sliced shallots with the plain flour in a bowl, then put in a sieve and shake off the excess. Place the shallots into the oil (drop a few in first and if they sizzle then the oil is hot enough) and gently fry until they are golden. May take between 5 to 10 minutes but don't let them burn or they will become bitter. Remove and drain from the oil onto kitchen paper, then sprinkle with some fine salt. Cool. Drop the sliced garlic into the oil, without any flour coating, and fry for no more than a couple of minutes until golden. Remove and drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt. Once cool, the shallots and garlic can be stored in an airtight container until you need them. Roast the cashew nuts in a 160°C oven for about 15 minutes. Toast the desiccated coconut in the same oven for about 10 minutes, keeping an eye on it so it doesn't burn. Keep in an airtight container until needed. For the coconut and lime dressing, place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Taste and adjust to your liking. Keep until needed. Peel and slice the mango the way you know best (everyone has their own way) and keep until needed. Blanch the trimmed green beans in boiling water for a few minutes to take away their rawness, but still with some crunch left. Rinse in cold water, drain and reserve. Preheat the grill to medium high. Make a paste with the brown sugar by adding a little bit of cold water, then brush over the salmon. Grill to your liking and until the edges of the fillets start to caramelise, about 7-10 minutes. Remove and keep to one side. Divide the green beans and mango between your plates and break the salmon into chunks and add. Sprinkle with toasted coconut, herbs and chilli. Drizzle with the coconut lime dressing and throw over some chopped roasted cashews and, last but not least, sprinkle with the crunchy, salty, shallots and garlic. This is not a tidy plate of food but it should be vibrant, colourful and exciting. |
Frying the shallots
Roasted cashews
Toasted coconut
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