Vietnamese Pomelo Salad
Pomelo’s are a type of citrus fruit, quite like a giant grapefruit but very sweet and juicy without the bitter sourness. They grow in abundance in tropical regions and are very popular here in Vietnam. You can pick them up in most asian grocers or markets and I know they can be found back home in Australia. They have a very thick rind and pith that you need to peel off completely before you get to the sweet juicy flesh. This Vietnamese Pomelo Salad is light and refreshing and works well as a starter or side to an asian inspired meal.
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| Vietnamese Pomelo Salad |
One of the key ingredients that makes this dish carry the true Vietnamese flavour is the crunchy fried eschallots and traditionally it would have roasted peanuts which I have left out. It would also have cooked prawns (which I am not fond of) or cooked pork. I didn’t feel like adding any meat so feel free to (you could add some slices of the caramelised pork from my rice paper roll recipe here).
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| Vietnamese Pomelo Jar Salad to take away |
This was quite a fun recipe to make with all the beautiful and colourful ingredients.
VIETNAMESE POMELO SALAD
- 500 gms peeled pomelo (yellow or pink is ok), if you cannot find pomelo where you are located, use a mix of pink grapefruit and orange segments
- 1 ripe but firm mango
- 6 small eschallots
- 2 red chillies
- 2 large sprigs of thai basil (found in asian grocers, common basil is ok to substitute but will taste slightly different)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- lime wedges to serve
- 1.5 tbsp coconut sugar (I use this one here)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce (I use Red Boat brand which has no nasties added)
- 1 tbsp white vinegar (or kombucha vinegar would work well too)
- juice of 1 lime
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| Vietnamese Pomelo Salad |
- peel and thinly slice the eschallots and keep 1/3 aside
- heat a small pan with the olive oil on medium
- add the 2/3 eschallots and stir constantly
- watch carefully as you want to brown and crisp the eschallots but not burn them
- just before you think they are done, remove from heat and place on paper towel to absorb the excess oil
- they will continue to brown a little more so be careful not to burn them, they should look like this:
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| crispy fried eschallots |
- set them aside to cool
- peel and dice the mango into 1cm cubes
- deseed the chillies and thinly slice lengthways
- wash and pick all the leaves off the thai basil
- place the pomelo, mango, thai basil leaves, half the crispy fried eschallots and the raw eschallots in a mixing bowl
- try and keep the pomelos pieces about an inch in size, not too big and not too small
- mix the dressing ingredients until the coconut sugar is dissolved
- pour half the dressing over the pomelo mixture and gently toss
- taste and add more dressing if required
- plate with some wedges of lime
- garnish with remaining crispy fried eschallots and thinly sliced chillies
- hope you enjoy! 🙂
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| Vietnamese Pomelo Salad |
Leave me a comment if you enjoyed this recipe 🙂 for more ideas, head to my recipes page here.
- 500 gms peeled pomelo (yellow or pink is ok), if you cannot find pomelo where you are located, use a mix of pink grapefruit and orange segments
- 1 ripe but firm mango
- 6 small eschallots
- 2 red chillies
- 2 large sprigs of thai basil (found in asian grocers, common basil is ok to substitute but will taste slightly different)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- lime wedges to serve
- For the dressing:
- 1.5 tbsp coconut sugar (I use this one here)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce (I use Red Boat brand which has no nasties added)
- 1 tbsp white vinegar (or kombucha vinegar would work well too)
- juice of 1 lime
- peel and thinly slice the eschallots and keep ⅓ aside
- heat a small pan with the olive oil on medium
- add the ⅔ eschallots and stir constantly
- watch carefully as you want to brown and crisp the eschallots but not burn them
- just before you think they are done, remove from heat and place on paper towel to absorb the excess oil
- they will continue to brown a little more so be careful not to burn them, they should look like this:
- set them aside to cool
- peel and dice the mango into 1cm cubes
- deseed the chillies and thinly slice lengthways
- wash and pick all the leaves off the thai basil
- place the pomelo, mango, thai basil leaves, half the crispy fried eschallots and the raw eschallots in a mixing bowl
- try and keep the pomelos pieces about an inch in size, not too big and not too small
- mix the dressing ingredients until the coconut sugar is dissolved
- pour half the dressing over the pomelo mixture and gently toss
- taste and add more dressing if required
- plate with some wedges of lime
- garnish with remaining crispy fried eschallots and thinly sliced chillies
- hope you enjoy! 🙂
