As the BBQ season is back:
I love the spicy salads of south east asia. Here are two recipes adjusted to available ingredients (and to my taste...)
- Laotian inspired meat saladfor a decent bowl you need
- 800g of meat, thick piece(s) (Pork shoulder/neck or rump steak or other tender, marbled meat. Poultry might work, but tends to go dry and chewy)
- 1 bulb of garlic
- vegetable oil
- 2 medium onions in half rings
- 1 bunch of spring onions, chopped
- 1 small bunch of coriander, including stems and roots. leaves picked, stems and roots finely chopped
- 1 small bunch of mint leaves, coarse chopped
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1 bunch of green celery sticks, chopped
- 1 handful of cherry tomatoes in halves
- 3-4 limes -> juice
- asian fish sauce ("nam plah"), can be substituted with light soy sauce, to taste
- dried chili (coarse powder) to taste (should be done seriously spicy)
- salt
- 1 tbs of raw rice (preferably glutinous rice) roasted and ground
Preparation:
- marinate the meat for at least 2h in a little oil and a load of sliced / crushed garlic, easiest is to put it in a plastic bag, cover evenly and squeeze out the air before closing
- chop up your vegetables and herbs
- mix lime juice, fish sauce and chili powder. start with a little fish sauce (1 tsp), the taste is intense.
- BBQ or fry the meat (remove most of the garlic before, salt generously), big heat for crispy outer and tender inner, leave to rest for 10min
- slice the meat thin and evenly, I prefer about stamp sized and 5mm thickness
- mix meat and vegs with the rice powder and the dressing, adjust taste with salt, chili and fish sauce. You can add some finely chopped garlic if you like.
The result should be spicy, crisp, sour and very aromatic. serve immediately with the meat still warm.
The picture is stolen from the interwebs and misses celery & cucumber, but it should look like this:
Thai style vegetable saladThis salad is originally done with green papaya, almost never available here. I substitute with carrots and cabbage turnip.
- 1/2 kg of carrots, scrubbed clean,
- 1/2 kg of cabbage turnip, peeled,
- small handful of green beans, trimmed
- handful of cherry tomatoes in halves
- 1 bunch spring onions, chopped
- 1 small bunch of coriander, leaves picked
- 1 small bunch of parsley, chopped
- 2 tbs peanuts, roasted
- 3 limes (juice and some rind/peel)
- 2-4 cloves garlic
- fresh chilies to taste (2-3 regular = spicy, 4-6 thai chilies = hot, 1-2 habaneros = WTF)
- 1 tbs brown sugar
- asian fish sauce ("nam plah"), can be substituted with light soy sauce, to taste
Preparation:
- grate carrots and cabbage turnip coarsely. I prefer the el-cheapo square ikea grate
the vegetable should have a rough surface, not clean and smooth, for easier marinating
- blanche the beans and cut to 1" pieces
- chop up chilies and garlic, add sugar and grind to a smooth paste. add lime juice, some fine chopped peel and fish sauce.
- toss vegetables, herbs and dressing together, marinate for 20mins, adjust taste with salt, fish sauce, lime juice, chopped chilies.
- you can add shrimps or crab or squid if you like
Have another stolen pic (When I´m cooking, I´m busy and do not take pictures...)
Enjoy.