To make this punchy, flavoursome spicy salad, you can find banana blossom, fresh from exotic fruit markets or fresh but pre-sliced from Chinese supermarkets! The tinned banana blossom will not work for this unfortunately! So you have got to find yourself some fresh! If you find it from an exotic fruit seller, you will have to dissemble and slice the blossom yourself.
If you can’t get your hands on any fresh banana blossom, you can substitute it from any crunchy salad veg like watercress or pea shoots as the dressing is the real star of this dish!
Ingredients:
100-150g fresh sliced Banana Blossom
3 finely sliced Shallots
2-10 Thai Chillies or Finger Chillies
4-6 minced Garlic
A thumb of mashed or grated Ginger
2 tbsp Vegetarian Stir Fry Sauce
2 tbsp Soy Sauce/Tamari
2 tbsp Sesame Oil
3 tbsp Coconut Sugar
2/3 cup chopped fresh Coriander
2/3 cup chopped fresh Mint
1 tsp dried or fresh chopped Lemongrass
3-4 Lime Leaves
1 cup julienned (or sliced) Carrots
1 finely sliced Spring Onion
Juice of 1 Lime
Celtic Salt to taste
70-100g fresh Pea shoots or Watercress leaves
A few more tbsps Sesame Oil, for frying
Directions:
- Begin by prepping your salad. Add your banana blossom to a large mixing bowl. You want to break it up and add in the salad leaves of your choice. Add in your julienned carrots, coriander, mint and spring onion to the bowl also. Mix them up well.
- In a pestle and mortar, mash up 2 cloves of garlic, the amount of chilli of your choice, and a thumb of peeled and sliced ginger.
- Now add in about 3 tablespoons of coconut sugar. Proceed to mash this into a paste with the garlic, chilli and ginger.
- Next, add in the light soy sauce, sesame oil, juice of half a lime, and vegetarian stir fry sauce. Combine and mash well, then set aside.
- Bring a frying pan to a medium heat and drizzle in a few tablespoons of sesame oil. Allowed to gently heat and then add in your sliced Shallots, lime leaves, 4 cloves of minced Garlic and the chopped Lemongrass. Cook on low-medium until the shallots have softened.
- Pull the lime leaves out of the shallot mix and discard them as you no longer need them.
- Combine the fried mix to the sauce you set aside earlier.
- Pour the sauce over the salad you prepared earlier, mix it in really well and finish with the other half of the lime, to taste. This salad is quite forgiving. You can be generous with the ingredients and you’ll still have a very flavoursome dish. Enjoy!
