Banana Blossom Salad

 

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Here is the second recipe from the cooking class in Vietnam. This salad tasted wonderful to me, because it is wonderfully refreshing thanks to the dressing which contains lime juice. With the pieces of meat and the prawns it is a complete, light meal. For a vegetarian version you can replace the meat and prawns with tofu.

Unfortunately, in Switzerland banana blossoms are very hard to come by, they are almost unknown. But you can find them in Asian shops which are more and more widespread.

Banana blossom salad recipe (for 1 – 2 persons)

Ingredients for the salad:

• 50 g pork strips (or tofu)
• 50 g shrimps
• 1 lime, only juice
• 50 g banana blossom

Preparation

Fry the pork strips in a little oil, peel and cook the prawns, then put both aside.

Remove the outer, hard banana blossom leaves, then halve the blossom and cut away the heart. Remove any banana shoots between the leaves. Cut the remaining soft petals into thin slices and soak in water + lime juice for about 10 minutes, then rinse with cold water.

 

Ingredients for decoration:

• 1 piece mild chili pepper, cut into thin strips
• ½ Onion, cut into thin strips
• 1 handful sliced mint
• 1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
• Pickled carrots (as desired)

Pickled carrots

• rice vinegar
• sugar
• carrot or radish or green papaya

 

Whisk sugar and rice vinegar (1:5) until the sugar is dissolved. Add the carrots (or radish or green papaya cut into narrow strips, mix and leave to stand in the fridge for at least 30 minutes covered. (Can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks)

 

Ingredients for the salad dressing:

• 1.5 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce (or soy sauce for vegetarian version)
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar (or other light vinegar)
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• ½ tsp ground pepper
• ½ tsp Sesame Oil

Preparation:

Whisk all ingredients together. Mix 1 tablespoon of the sauce with the previously set aside pork strips and prawns. Let it rest for another 10 minutes.

Mix the rest of the sauce with the banana blossom salad, onions, chili pepper, mint and pickled carrots, then leave to rest for 10 minutes.

 

Arrange the salad on a plate, add the meat and prawns (or tofu) and decorate with roasted sesame seeds. A chili pepper cut into blossoms is a very nice decoration!

Serve with bread or crackers.

 

Enjoy your meal!