Vegetable Ribbon, Pork, and Shrimp Salad

In Kim Thúy’s 2020 Shortlisted cookbook, Secrets from My Vietnamese Kitchen, she gives readers a delicious introduction to Vietnamese cooking. ⁠This Vegetable Ribbon, Pork and Shrimp Salad recipe is a lovely dish to try on a hot summer day. It highlights the best of the garden–carrots, celery, daikon, cucumber, basil and coriander, while only needing about 10 minutes of actual cook time. The rest of the time is spent chilling in the fridge! ⁠

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Vegetable Ribbon, pork and shrimp salad

Course Main Course

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 7 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Author Kim Thúy, author of Secrets from My Vietnamese Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 small daikon shaved into ribbons using a mandoline (or vegetable peeler)
• 2 carrots shaved into ribbons using a mandoline (or vegetable peeler)
• 1 stalk celery shaved into ribbons using a mandoline (or vegetable peeler)
• 1/4 lb (110 g) raw shrimp
• 1/4 lb (110 g) pork belly
• 1 to 2 cucumbers
• 1/3 cup (85 mL) fish sauce dressing divided
• Handful Thai basil coarsely chopped
• Handful Vietnamese coriander coarsely chopped
• Bird’s eye chili thinly sliced, to taste
• 1/4 cup (30 g) crushed peanuts
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) fried shallots

Instructions

• Add the daikon, carrot, and celery ribbons to a bowl of ice water and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Bring 4 cups (1 L) of salted water to a boil. Add the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a bowl of ice water. (Keep the pot of water boiling.)
• Add the pork belly to the pot of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes, skimming regularly.
• Meanwhile, peel the shrimp, then slice in half lengthwise. Transfer to a salad bowl and refrigerate.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork belly to a bowl and refrigerate.
• Strain the cooking water into a heatproof, airtight container and store, refrigerated, for another use.
• Once the pork belly is cold, slice into strips and add to the salad bowl.
• Drain the vegetable ribbons, cut the cucumbers into matchsticks, and add all the vegetables to the salad bowl.
• Drizzle with half of the fish sauce dressing. Add the Thai basil, Vietnamese coriander, and bird’s eye chili. Toss to combine.
• Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
• When ready to serve, adjust seasoning by adding more dressing to taste. Garnish with crushed peanuts and fried shallots and serve immediately.
• If you like, you can add thinly sliced green mango to this salad.

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