Saigon Lotus Root Salad — Goi Ngo Sen
Saigon lotus root salad with shaved lotus stems, poached shrimp, and sliced pork belly tossed in a vibrant fish sauce dressing of lime, chilli, and palm sugar, finished with crushed peanuts, fried shallot, mint, and Vietnamese coriander.
Vietnamese
Categories
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
For 2 servings
Instructions
Prep
Halve ginger and shallot lengthwise, mince garlic, slice red chilli into rings. Peel carrot into matchsticks, halve tomato into wedges. Drain and bias-slice lotus stems into 4cm pieces. Peel and devein shrimp, slice pork belly against the grain into 5mm rectangles after cooking. Crush peanuts coarsely.
Boil
Bring water with ginger, shallot, and salt to a boil over high heat for 5 minutes. Drop pork belly in, reduce to bare simmer for 12–14 minutes until juices run clear. Lift onto a board to cool.
Build 1
Add shrimp to the same pot off heat, poach in residual heat for 4–5 minutes until pink and opaque. Transfer to ice water for 1 minute to chill, then halve lengthwise butterfly-style.
Build 2
Whisk fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, rice vinegar, garlic, and half the chilli rings off heat for 1 minute until sugar dissolves and dressing turns glossy.
Fry
Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat for 3 minutes until 180C. Drop shrimp crackers in one at a time, fry 5 seconds each until puffed to triple size and pale. Drain on paper towel.
Build 3
Toss lotus stems, carrot, tomato with dressing off heat for 2 minutes, bruising lightly until ribbons soften and soak in colour.
Plate
Divide dressed lotus salad between two plates, fan pork belly and shrimp halves cut-side up alongside each mound. Scatter peanuts, fried shallot, mint, rau ram, cilantro, remaining chilli, and tuck shrimp crackers around each salad.
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