This past weekend was the first insanely sunny, deliciously warm, and gorgeous weekend of the year. So like a stereotypical 30-something with a new-ish found hobby of gardening, I went to Home Depot to buy soil and proceeded to spend more time out in the yard than inside. Our olive tree got a major haircut, the herb patch got trimmed (which meant many herb bouquets for our friends), and we started planting our vegetables for the season. The boost of vitamin D and the aromatherapy of smelling the rosemary and lemon balm was exactly what I needed and I could feel the remnants of seasonal depression starting to lift.
I’m very excited to leave winter behind, but the only thing I’ll be sad about is saying goodbye to the abundance of winter citrus. Specifically pomelos and really good oranges. When I was preparing for Lunar New Year last month I stocked up on pomelos (Thank you, Costco) and was even gifted more pomelos at our party from thoughtful friends. So I’ve been happily eating pomelos every week and making this slightly spicy and very refreshing shrimp and pomelo salad with any fruit I didn’t end up eating immediately once peeled.
I can’t explain it, but pomelos and soy sauce taste incredibly delicious together. The fruit of the pomelo is juicy and sweet, with just a hint of bitterness. The salt from the soy sauce somehow neutralizes any bitterness and actually makes the fruit tastes sweeter! This salad in heavily inspired by Vietnamese and Thai shrimp salads, so the dressing is a combination of pomelo and shallots that are marinated in limes juice, sambal, soy sauce, and fish sauce. You want the shallots to almost slightly pickle in the dressing. I don’t know if it’s just me or maybe I’m particularly obsessed with pomelos but I would just eat the dressing by the spoonful. It has a ceviche like appeal!
I like to make the dressing in a big bowl, something I would serve the salad in, for ease and minimal dirty dishes. Toss in the little gems (sometimes I’ll add radicchio for color and a little bitterness), shrimp, and mint leaves and make sure everything is nicely coated. A sprinkle of peanuts add a nice crunch to an otherwise very textually satisfying salad. You’ll want to eat the salad soon after it has been tossed but it will also hold up for a few hours if your little gems are extra crispy. If you want to stretch out this salad to an even bigger meal, you can serve it with rice noodles too!
I dream of this salad and I’m sure after making this once you’ll start to dream of it too.
What I’m cooking this week:
I’m still in the process of developing a Taro week series and I have a sweet taro cake and a savory taro cake on the schedule!
My Pau Pau’s Steamed Cupcakes (Fa Gao), this recipe is in Mooncakes and Milk Bread and I’m making a big batch of them to bring to a Chinese elementary school in the city. I’m doing a fun cooking class for the kids and going to talk about why food, family, and culture is important to me.
Tofu Pudding, particularly excited about this. Tofu for dessert is not a foreign concept to me. I can’t decide if I want to do an easy matcha flavored one or go for a butterscotch flavor.
Macau-style Egg Tarts, another recipe from Mooncakes and Milk Bread! Felted a craving for them after watching Poor Things.
Crispy Fish Thai Curry, making this for dinner tonight and hopefully it will turn into a recipe soon!
Cheddar Bunnies, discovered I have a rabbit shaped cookie cutter while making dog treats for Olive and now I can’t stop thinking about making a cheesy cracker with them. Would be cute for Easter I think!
Hope you have a tasty week!
Shrimp and Pomelo Salad
serves 4
Juice of 3 to 4 limes (about 1/4 cup juice)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sambal
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
1/2 large pomelo, peeled and pith removed
1 1/2 lb 16 count shell-on shrimp
3 heads of (about 12-16oz) little gems, trimmed and washes
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
3 tbsp finely chopped peanuts.
In a very large bowl, whisk to combine lime juice, olive oil, sambal, soy sauce, fish sauce, honey, salt, and black pepper. Add shallots and 1/2 cup of pomelo. Toss into the dressing and allow the shallots to marinate and soften, about 15 minutes.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and fill a large bowl with ice water. Add the shrimp and poach until pink and plump, 2 minutes. Transfer the shrimp with a slotted spoon or spider from the pot and into the ice water. Allow the shrimp to chill for a few minutes and then drain the water and peel the shrimp.
Assemble the salad by tossing in layers. Add about half the little gems, half the shrimp, half the remaining pomelo, and half the mint leaves and toss to coat in the dressing. Add the remaining salad ingredients and toss again until fully coated. Sprinkle peanuts over the top and serve immediately.