My very first encounter with the pomelo was back in 1996, I was in my mid-twenties all excited about being on my secend-ever overseas trip in Vietnam. Mr K and I were in the north of the country and being driven around somewhere around Halong Bay. I remember our driver stopped for some reason. Water buffalo crossing the highway, traffic jam, I really don’t remember why. As soon as our car stops a young local guy jumps out of nowhere offering us a funny-looking oversized grapefruit, already torn in half exposing pale pink segments of flesh. I think it was only US$1 so we bought it and continued driving. Juicy, tart, slightly sweet and sour. It was beautiful. A simple memory I’ll cherish forever.
Summer in Sydney is at full swing which means the pomelo is very tasty right now and in abundance. I love eating it on it’s own or adding it to salads such as the one I often make using shreds of green mango.
So off I go to visit my usual lady, shown above, at Paddy’s Market to pick up some ingredients. I’ve been going to her for years and I appreciate the small bonus gifts she slips into my bag … some lychees here, curry leaves there … she’s a real darling.
The salad I make doesn’t have a recipe as such as it varies every time I make it. Thanks to the Fiji Market being just near my house I also have a steady supply of betel leaves, which I often use when we have a cocktail party or entertain. You’ve got to love a food wrapper/plate you can also eat!
The only accurate quantities I’ve supplied are for the dressing. The rest can be as proportionate as you like.
pomelo & green mango salad with grilled prawns
original recipe by hnf
dressing
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100 ml coconut cream
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1 tbsp lime juice
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1 tbsp fish sauce
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2 tsp palm sugar
prawn marinade
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600 g green prawns, peeled and deveined
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oil
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fish sauce
the salad
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green mango, peeled and julienned
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1/2 pomelo, segmented and crumbled
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1/2 cup mint leaves
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1 cup coriander leaves
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1/2 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
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good pinch of chilli flakes
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2 kaffir lime leaves, very finely shredded
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toasted shredded coconut
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fried shallots
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thinly sliced fresh shallots
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betel leaves
method
- For the prawns, drizzle over a bit of oil and a good splodge of fish sauce. Mix well and set aside.
- For the dressing combine all ingredients and mix well until the palm sugar has dissolved. Set aside.
- For the salad combine all the ingredients and mix well. The trickiest part is the julienned green mango. It can be a bit tedious if you’re not trained with a knife, so just use a regular peeler and shave off long strips, then cut these lengthways with a knife. I’m pretty good with a knife but choose not to use it thanks to the wonderful julienne peeler I picked up in Krabi, Thailand many years ago. The ones I’ve bought in Australia are useless compared to this little beauty that only cost me $2.
- Next heat the bbq and quickly cook the prawns while you’re plating up.
- Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and mix it through gently.
- Sprinkle the salad with a final flourish of fried shallots.
- If you don’t want to go all fancy like I did in the top pic, plate up your salad in a more conventional way as I also did below.
- Enjoy!
- January 28, 2010 9:18 PM
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