Pomelo isn't just a nutritious fruit, but also a key ingredient in creating the exquisite pomelo, shrimp, and meat salad. The harmonious blend of tangy sweetness from pomelo, tender and fatty meat, and succulent shrimp, along with various fresh greens, ensures this salad remains timeless. Join Team PasGo in the kitchen to learn how to make this amazing pomelo, shrimp, and meat salad!
1. Ingredients for crafting a delicious pomelo, shrimp, and meat salad
To create a delectable and enticing pomelo, shrimp, and meat salad, you'll need the following ingredients:
- 1 Pomelo
- 0.5 kg Pork
- 200g Shrimp
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Onion
- 1 Cucumber
- Shrimp Chips
- Roasted Peanuts
- Lime Juice 50ml
- Chilies, Garlic
- Purple Onion, Coriander, Basil, Mint
- Common Seasonings: Fish sauce, sugar, salt, MSG, chili paste
Key ingredients for preparing pomelo, shrimp, and meat salad
2. How to make the endlessly delightful sweet and sour pomelo, shrimp, and meat salad
To create a delicious pomelo, shrimp, and meat salad, master the art of mixing to keep the pomelo intact. Especially, learn the art of making the flavorful salad dressing with a rich and authentic taste.
Step 1: Prepare the ingredients
Prepare and peel the pomelo
Opt for green-skinned pomelo as its segments are usually crisp and do not release excess water when mixed. Peel the skin, tear the segments, and separate them into bite-sized pieces.
Prepare other ingredients
- Peel and julienne carrots and onions, squeeze with a pinch of salt, then rinse and soak in a mixture of vinegar and sugar before placing in an ice water bowl.
- Cut both ends of the cucumber, wash with diluted saltwater. Remove, and thinly slice using a knife.
- Peel and discard the skin of purple onions, garlic, and remove the stems from the chili. Thinly slice the purple onion, sauté until fragrant, and finely chop the garlic and chili.
- Peel and clean shrimp, remove the head.
Quick method to devein shrimp: Flip the shrimp upside down, hold the body with one hand, and with the other hand, peel both sides of the shrimp's head. Then, holding the connection between the head and the body, slowly pull the shrimp head away from the body. The vein attached to the head will also be pulled out. - Other ingredients like cilantro, basil, and coriander should be picked and washed before coarsely chopping (note: do not chop too finely).
Prepare ingredients for making pomelo, shrimp, and meat salad
Step 2: Boil shrimp and meat
Place the shrimp in a pot of water, add a few sprigs of green onions, sliced ginger, boil until cooked, then remove and put into an ice water bowl. Peel the shrimp.
You can split the shrimp in half vertically according to your preference.
Clean the pork belly, add a little salt to eliminate any odor, then place in a pot with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/3 teaspoon of MSG, pour enough water to cover the meat, and boil until cooked.
Cool the meat in an ice water bowl to maintain its crispiness, remove and drain, then cut into thin bite-sized pieces.
Boil shrimp and meat
Step 3: Fry shrimp crackers
Place shrimp crackers in hot oil, fry until puffed up, golden and crispy on both sides, then remove to drain excess oil.
Step 4: Prepare the salad dressing
One of the most crucial steps and the heart of the pomelo, shrimp, and meat salad is preparing the salad dressing.
Follow these steps:
- Combine sugar and fish sauce in a 1:1 ratio, heat on the stove until boiling, then let it cool.
- Transfer the cooked fish sauce to a bowl, add chili paste and mix well. Then add diluted tamarind water, stir to blend the flavors.
- Finally, add finely chopped garlic and chili, stir once more.
Make the dressing for pomelo, shrimp, and meat salad
Step 5: Mix pomelo, shrimp, and meat salad
Prepare a large bowl. Arrange pomelo, carrots, cucumber, pork belly, shrimp, sautéed onions, and various finely chopped herbs in different sections of the bowl.
Then, drizzle the fish sauce over the ingredients and mix well to let them absorb the flavors.
There you have it! Transfer the pomelo, shrimp, and meat salad to a plate, sprinkle roasted peanuts and sautéed onions on top, and you're ready to enjoy it with shrimp crackers!
Mix the prepared ingredients with the sauce to complete the dish
3. Secrets to perfecting the delicious pomelo, shrimp, and meat salad
- Choose pomelo that is juicy, not dry.
- Mix the ingredients just before serving, about 10 minutes in advance, to let them soak up the flavors and prevent the salad from becoming watery with intact vegetables.
- Using a spoon and fork to mix the salad will keep the pomelo segments from getting crushed.
- Soak the accompanying vegetables in ice water after preparing them to enhance the crispiness of the salad.
- Using a spoon and fork to mix the salad helps keep the pomelo segments intact.
Secrets to perfecting the delicious pomelo, shrimp, and meat salad
4. Finished Product
The pomelo, shrimp, and meat salad, once completed, exudes a distinctive aroma and a visually appealing color. When you taste it, you'll experience the delightful blend of sweet and sour flavors, complemented by a perfectly balanced saltiness from the sauce, all infused into each piece of meat and every shrimp.
The pomelo segments remain crisp and intact, the meat is tenderly boiled, the shrimp is delightfully firm, and the carrots and white radishes offer a rich, sweet and sour taste, providing a satisfying crunch. Taking a bite of the salad with the crispy and flavorful shrimp crackers is an unmatched experience, isn't it!
Guide to making the endlessly delightful pomelo, shrimp, and meat salad