it’s been a while since we whipped up a salad. but seeing that it’s fiesta friday, we feel the time is right for a savory summer salad.
this dish was inspired by a recent visit to an awesome thai restaurant in tuen mun. we decided to replicate that refreshing summer salad in our kitchen, with our own added variation. we topped it with pork cheek, but shrimp or chicken breast works too. also, you can substitute cashews with peanuts, and dried fish with dried shrimp. to save time and energy from dismembering a whole pomelo, buy the peeled ones at the market.
pomelo 1 whole (roughly 1 lb)
pork cheek 8 oz (marinate with 1 tsb soy sauce and 1 tsb fish sauce)
dried fish 1/2 cup
roasted cashew pieces 1/2 cup
cucumber 1 thinly sliced
mint and thai basil leaves 1 tbsp each chopped
thai red chili 1 diced
shallot and garlic 1 finely diced (optional)
dressing
olive oil 1 tsp
fish sauce 1 tbsp
soy sauce 1 tsp
lemon juice 1 tbsp
sugar 1/2 tsp
- marinate the pork, about 1 hr in advance
- cook on a grill or pan, about 10 minutes, set aside
- shred the pomelo into small chunks, place in a large mixing bowl
- add the cucumber, dried fish, roasted cashew, red chili, mint, and basil (garlic and shallot too, if preferred)
- to make the dressing, combine all of the ingredients for the dressing and mix thoroughly
- add the dressing to the salad and toss evenly
- thinly slice the pork and top it on the salad
Ooh, that sounds amazing! I’ll have to try that! I may have to substitute grapefruit and another cut of pork, as pomelo and pork cheeks are hard to find here, but I love the general idea.
yeah definitely play around with the ingredients you like.
try the asian markets for pomelo, maybe a thai market. but pork cheek is a rare cut to find.
Love that!
thank you mr fitz!
I definitely think that pork cheek is underrated and putting it in a salad is a nice way to balance out the richness. I bet it was yummy 🙂 definitely bookmarking – hopefully I can find pork cheek.
Hope you can find pork cheek too. It’s definitely a delicious salad!
What a great combo. I’m sure the veggies really balance the richness of the pork cheeks very nicely. 🙂
you’re absolutely right! it’s definitely a great combo.
Ooh i love this!
thanks!
This sounds really good! Nice recipe:)
thank you!
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The flavours in this salad sound amazing… and sooo refreshing! I’m not a huge fan of pork, so I’m already dreaming of topping this with some beautifully-cooked shrimp! Thanks so much for bringing this only to Fiesta Friday this week! Cheers, Margot
I love pomelo! And this salad looks so refreshing, great flavours in the dressing too. The FF crowd is going to love this, thank you for bringing it to the party!!
thank you saucy gander! have a great weekend!
I like the balance of the veggies with the pork. Looks very interesting! yum! happy FF!
thank you lisa! happy FF!