Pho Inspired Shrimp Pomelo Salad

A salad is never just a salad. There is so much versatility about it which makes it a great appetizer prior to a full course meal or you can have it as a complete meal in itself. I guess a salad is all about texture. No matter how expensive the ingredients tossed in any salad, if the combination does not have the right balance of textures in one’s palette, that salad is going to get tossed out into the bin.

Dressing is the crowning glory of any salad. Just like hair is to us humans, if your haircut sucks you’re doomed under a cap for months. If the salad dressing is so off with the salad ingredients, there is no salad at all.

I have often had recurring dreams of this Shrimp and Pomelo salad I ordered at a popular Thai restaurant here in the city . For months, I tried and tested my own take at this popular salad dish but for some reason, I always had a fail stamp on texture! It was either the dressing was too much, or the salad ingredients were not proportionate. It took me a while to master how much of its ingredients had to be in the bowl in direct relation to the amount of dressing I was to drizzle on it. True enough, I lingered and relished every bite and cast myself onto a mission of replicating this refreshing dish. I could actually live on this salad every lunch or dinner as it is quite filling. The contrast of crisp and crunchy against the light soft meat of shrimp and chicken is a welcome refreshing delight on a hot day. The sweet, tangy dressing, punched up by the very distinct flavour of coriander leaves and dried shrimp fry is what sold me 200% on this dish.

Shrimp and Pomelo Salad

Ingredients:

1 Pomelo or ruby red grapefruit

1 Cooked chicken breast

1 cup 237ml Cooked shrimp

1 teaspoon 5ml Chopped red chile

1 1/2 tablespoons 22ml Thai fish sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons 7.5ml Sugar

1 teaspoon 5ml Lime, juice of (large)

1 1/2 tablespoons 22ml Fresh coriander – chopped

1 Red leaf lettuce – for garnish

1/4 cup 36g / 1.3oz Roasted peanuts – chopped

1 Fresh red chile – julienne for

Dried shrimp fry ( fried ) – optional

6 Shallots – thinly sliced

1 cup 237ml Vegetable oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pomelos are a big citrus fruit much like grapefruit, but somewhat drier and sweeter. If unavailable, grapefruit will do.

Peel and separate pomelo or grapefruit into segments. Remove the membranes. Seed. Gently flake the flesh apart into a bowl. Chill. Hand shred the chicken.
Add chicken and shrimp to pomelo.
In a small bowl mix together the chopped red chile with fish sauce, sugar, lime juice and coriander; toss with pomelo chicken mixture.
Arrange the lettuce on a serving platter. Put the fruit mixture over the lettuce. Top with peanuts and 2 tablespoons of Crisp Fried Shallot Flakes, and garnish with red chile slivers and fried dried shrimp fry
CRISP FRIED SHALLOT FLAKES: Slice shallots into thin slices. Be sure they are all of the same thinness to ensure even cooking. Heat a pan with the vegetable oil over medium heat.
Add shallots and fry slowly until browned and crisp, 5 to 10 minutes. The moisture in the shallots should be completely cooked out. Drain on paper towel. Store in an air-tight container. Will keep several weeks.