tropical salads Recipes by Lee Geok B0i Never have salads been so exciting! Take a fresh look at healthy greens and indulge in the spicy, tangyflavours 0fAsian salads. TropicaISa/ads offers you sensationalsalad dishes from ThaiIand, Vietnam, lndonesia, Singapore and Malaysia including Thai Green Mango SaIad, Vietnamese Pork and Beansprout Salad and Singapore-style R0jak. PERIPLUS
Vietnamese Chicken SaIad 500 g ( 1 (b) cabbage 200 g ( 7 (z) chicken breast, poached and shredded 2 shallots, thinly sliced ろ sprigs (1/2 cup) coriander leaves llarge spring onion, finely sliced Dressing 2 tablespoons fish sauce ろ tablespoons lime juice 4 cloves garlic, crushed 2 bird's-eye chillies, finely minced Garnish ろ tablespoons roasted, chopped peanuts 1 tablespoon fried shallots I. Remove the central core from the cabbage and dis- card, then shred the leaves finely. 2. Combine the cabbage, chicken, shallots, coriander leaves and spring onion in a large serving bO 、 'VI. 3. Combine all the Dressing ingredients in a smaller bowl and stir well. pour the Dressing over the salad and toss thoroughly. 4. Garnish with the peanuts and fried shallots and serve with steamed rice. Serves 4 Preparation time: 30 mins Assembling time: 5 mins 0 56
Spicy ScaIIop SaIad ろ 00 g ( 10 (z) fresh scallop meat ろ tablespoons Juice from large green limes 2 bird's-eye chillies, thinly sliced 2 tablespoons fish sauce 1 stalk lemongrass, tender inner part Of bO om third 0 司 y , smashed 1 small onion, thinly sliced 1 medium tomato, cut in wedges 1 ー 2 sprigs corianderleaves 1 0 leaves 厄 a green 厄 u ( e. torn 1. BIanch the scallops in boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove and drain 、 vell. 2. Place the scallops, lemongrass and onion in a serving dish. Combine the lime juice, chillies and fish sauce in a small bOWl and pour the mixture over the scallops. 3. Add the tomatoes, coriander leaves and lastly the torn lettuce. Toss the salad lightly and serve immedi- ately with steamed rice. Serves 4 Preparation time: 15 mins AssembIing time: 2 mins 7 26
\/ietnamese Cucumber SaIad 500 g ( 1 (b) cucumbers, peeled and quartered with SO 升 centre removed 200 g ( 7 (z) small fresh prawns, blanched and peeled 40 g ( 1 cup) mint leaves, chopped 20 g ( 1 / 2 cup) Thai basilleaves, torn intO thin strips 1 / 2 teaspoon salt 1 spring onion, finely sliced diagonally Dressing 2 tablespoons fish sauce ろ tablespoons Juice from large green limes 4 tablespoons garlic 2 bird's-eye chillies 1 tablespoon sugar 1. Quarter the cucumber lengthwise and remove the soft centre. Slice thinly, and place on a sheet 0f absorbent paper. Cover with another sheet 0f paper' and press dO 、 tO remove as moisture as POSSI- ble. 2. TO prepare the Dressing, mix all the ingredients well. Place the cucumber, prawns, mint, basil leaves and salt in a serving dish. pour the Dressing over the salad, toss well and garnish with the spring onion. serve with steamed rice. Serves 4 Preparation time: 20 mins Assembling time: 5 mins 32
Yu Sheng (Chinese New Year Raw Fish Salad) 日 ou 「 Crackers 75 g ( 1 / 2 cup) plain flour 1 / 4 teaspoon baking pow- der 1 1 / 2 tablespoons water 1 tablespoon beaten egg 1 tablespoon sugar Pinch of salt Seasoned Fish 2 tablespoons lime Juice 1 / 2 teaspoon salt 1 / 4 teaspoon ground white pepper 1 / 4 teaspoon five spice powder 150 g ( 5 (z) fresh salmon, thinly sliced 150 g ( 1 cup) roasted peanuts, crushed ろ tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, crushed SaIad 5 cm ( 2 (n) young ginger, peeled and finely sliced 2 medium carrots, peeled and grated 0 「 sliced t0 yield 400 g ( 2 cups) 2 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced 1 sprig coriander leaves, coarsely chopped 6 sweet pickled leeks or onions, thinly sliced 12 Co 旧 Salads Dressing ろ tablespoons plum sauce 2 tablespoons 0 ⅱ 5 teaspoons sugar Serves 4 Preparation time: 1 hour 30 mins 1. To prepare the Flour Crackers, sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a medium bowl. Combine the egg and water, and stir intO the flour tO form a SO 代 dough. ROII out thinly onto a floured surface and cut into strips. Heat the 0 ⅱ in a wok and deep-fry the strips 0f dough until crisp. Drain well, then crush coarsely and store in an air-tight jar. 2. ln a small bowl, combine the lime juice, salt, pepper and five spice powder and pour it over the fish, coating well. Sprinkle the peanuts and sesame seeds over the top. 3. ln a separate bowl, combine all the Dressing ingre- dients and stir until the sugar dissolves. 4. Arrange the carrots, ginger and other salad mgredients on a large serving platter. Top with the seasoned fish and flour crackers. Add the Dressing. AII the diners mix the salad by lightly tossing the ingredi- ents in the air together. The flour crackers can be prepared in advance or pur- chased from a Chinese confectionery shop. The eating ofYu Sheng during the Lunar NewYear is a custom unique tO Singapore but is spreading in the overseas Chinese world. The higher the toss, the better the luck will be for the diners.
Urap (lndonesian coconut salad) 50 g ( 1 / 2 cup) freshly grated coconut 1 / 2 tablespoon Sambal BeIachan (page 7 ) 21 / 2 cm ( 1 (n) galangal, finely chopped 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 tablespoons palm sugar 2 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced 1/2 teaspoon salt 500 g ( / 4 cups) long beans, cut into lengths and blanched ろ OO g ( 6 cups) beansprouts, cleaned and blanched 2 shallots, thinly sliced 1. Dry-fry the coconut in a skillet over low heat, stir- ring constantly for 4 tO 5 minutes until the coconut turns golden brown. 2. Stir in the SambaI BeIachan, galangal, garlic and palm sugar and continue to fry for a further 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime leaves and salt. Set aside tO cool. 3. Combine the blanched vegetables and shallots with the COOled coconut mixture in a large bowl and serve at once 、 'Vith steamed rice. Serves 4 Preparation time: 20 mins AssembIing time: 5 mins Co 旧 SaIads 23
Thai Green Mango SaIad 500 g (llb) green mangoes, peeled and thinly shred- ded using a mandolin 0 「 grater 2 tablespoons dried prawns, soaked in water tO soften 2 shallots, thinly sliced 2 tablespoons Oil 7 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 2 bird's-eye chillies, minced 200 g ( 7 (z) minced pork 2 tablespoons fish sauce 1 teaspoon sugar 10 g ( 1 / 4 cup) Thai basilleaves, torn or sliced 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, crushed 1 sprig corianderleaves, chopped 1. Remove the excess moisture from the mango by squeezing it between paper towels. 2. Remove any hard shells from the dried prawns, then drain and chop them coarsely in a mortar or blender. 3. Stir-fry the sliced shallots in 0 ⅱ until golden brown then remove from the 0i1 and set aside. Quickly stir- fry the garlic in the same 0 ⅱ , taking care not tO burn it. Remove from the 0 ⅱ and set aside. 4. Add the dried prawns and chillies to the pan and stir-fry until fragrant. Drain Off the excess 0 ⅱ . Stir in the minced pork, then the fish sauce and sugar ・ Remove from the heat and cool. 5. Tear or slice the basilleaves intO thin strips and toss with the pork, fried garlic and shallots, mango, peanuts and coriander leaves, then arrange the salad ontO a servmg platter. Serve with steamed rice. Serves 4 Preparation time: 30 mins AssembIing time: 10 mins 38
Cold Salads Chinese New Year Raw Fish Salad 12 Green Mango Salad 14 lndonesian Coconut Salad 23 lndonesian Vegetable Salad 24 Pecel 24 Penang Fruit Rojak 20 Pineapple Kerabu 14 Singapore-style R0jak 18 Thai Squid Salad 10 Thai Raw Fish Salad 11 Thai Raw VegetabIe Salad with Shrimp Paste Dip 17 Urap 23 Yu Sheng 12 Dips Fragrant Shrimp Paste Chilli Sauce 7 Hae Koh Dip 8 Nam Prik Dip 9 Prawn Paste Dip 8 Sambal Belachan 7 Samb al Kachang 7 Spicy Peanut Dip 7 Palm Sugar Syrup 9 Thai Fish Sauce Chilli Dip 9 64 lndex Salad Meals Bangkuang in Lettuce Leaf Packets 54 Fried Beancurd Salad 61 Gado-Gado 48 lndonesian Mixed Salad with Peanut Dressing 48 扣 0 H00 Char 54 Kerabu Beehoon 51 Nasi Ulam 47 Rice Herb Salad 47 Rice Noodle Salad 51 Prawn Kerabu 50 Stuffed Beancurd 60 Stuffed Beancurd Pouches 62 Tauhu Goreng 61 Tau Pok Pau 62 Thai Glass Noodle Salad 52 Thai Grilled Beef Salad 59 Vietnamese Chicken Salad 56 Warm Salads Cabbage and Chicken Kerabu 40 Chicken Kerabu with Coconut 41 Grilled Eggplant Salad 37 Karedog 36 Nonya S amb al Timun 42 Pork and Cucumber Salad 42 Spicy Scallop Salad 26 Starfruit and Pork S alad 44 Sundanese Vegetable Salad 36 Thai Green Mango Salad 38 Thai Mackerel Salad 29 Thai Mushroom Salad 34 Thai Green Papaya Salad 35 Vietnamese Pork and Beansprout Salad 引 Vietnamese Cucumber Salad 32 Vietnamese Papaya and Pork Salad 30
ノー Singapore-styIe R0jak 2 cucumbers, peeled and cubed 100 g ( 1 / 2 cup) peeled and cubed pineapple 100 g ( 1 / 2 cup) わ angkuang (jicama), cubed 2 pieces ( 50 g/2 (Z) fried beancurd (tau po め , sliced 100 g ( 2 cups) beansprouts 100 g ( 4 (Z) water spinach ( ngko 四 ) 100 g ( 4 (z) jellyfish 0 「 preserved squid 1 tablespoon chopped ginger flowe 「 ( わ unga 々 an n ) 1 deep-fried dough stick ()u の , sliced 1. Cut the cucumber, pineapple, bangkuang and bean- curd intO bite-sized pieces. 2. BIanch the beansprouts and water spinach for 10 sec- onds, remove and drain. 3. Clean the jellyfish and cut into strips; peel and clean the squid and cut intO p ieces. 4. TO prepare the Dressing, mash and strain the tamarind and discard any solids tO Obtain JL1ice. Com- bine the tamarind juice with tWO thirds Of the crushed peanuts and all Other Dressing ingredients in a large salad bowl and mix well. 5. Add the vegetables and other ingredients and mix well. Garnish with the remaining peanuts and serve. The jellyfish and preserved squid for Singapore-style ROjak are readily available from Asian wet markets. Serves 4 Preparation time: 30 mins Assembling time: 5 mins Dressing 1 tablespoon tamarind pulp soaked in 2 tablespoons water ろ 00 g ( 2 cups) roasted peanuts, crushed 6 tablespoons black prawn paste ( わ ae k0 わ ) 4 tablespoons sugar ろ tablespoons lime juice 1 tablespoon ground dried red chillies, fried in 1 teaspoon Oil 3 18 Co 旧 SaIads
Karedog (Sundanese vegetable salad) Dressing: 100 g ( 2 cups) shredded 250 g ( 1 1 / 2 cups) roasted cabbage peanuts, crushed in a 1 large cucumber, SOft blender centre removed and 4 bird's-eye chillies, minced grated 0 「 thinly sliced ろ tablespoons lime Juice 50 g ( 1 / 2 cup) green 2 tablespoons Palm Sugar Serves 4 beans, thinly sliced Preparation time: 30 mins Syrup (page 9 ) 50 g ( 1 cup) Assembling time: 5 mins 1/2 teaspoon salt beansprouts, tails removed 2 tablespoons Thai basil 1. TO prepare the Dressing, mix all the ingredients well. leaves, chopped 2. Place the vegetables in a large serving bowl and pour the Dressing over the salad. Toss well and serve. TO ensure your salad is crisp, after washing, dry the vegetables on paper towels or spin in a salad spinner. 2 36