Thai Pomelo Salad with Sous Vide Prawns

This zingy dish is for those who like their salads with a bit of personality. It’s all about the balance of sweet and salty, which with the measurements I’ve given here should be just right. Different limes have varying degrees of sourness though, as do pomelos, so always give the salad a taste when it’s done to make sure everything’s balanced. Although it’s a slightly fiddly job getting the pomelo meat out, it’s well worth it. You can get a pomelo and all of the other ingredients from your local grocery store. The roasted red chile paste is marked as optional just for those who aren’t overly keen on spice, but if you are, it’s well worth adding for a great depth of flavor.

Author

Christina Wylie

Christina Wylie is an award-winning writer, author, editor, food stylist, recipe creator, entrepreneur and radio host whose work has been featured in The Times & The Sunday Times, Time Out (Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong and Dubai), Traveler’s Digest, Fah Thai Magazine, Broadsheet, Wining & Dining and many other internationally renowned publications. In 2013, after almost a decade of working as an international journalist, Christina founded the online lifestyle magazine The GAB Magazine, for which she now leads a team of 60 writers based all across Australia. She then founded Samui Life Magazine in 2016. After working as a recipe creator for Anova Culinary for over a year, she signed a cookbook contract with the American-based, international publishing company Quarto. Her cookbook, titled The Sous Vide Kitchen: Techniques, Ideas, and More Than 100 Recipes to Cook at Home, was published worldwide in 2017. She wrote, styled, and photographed everything that you see within that book. In 2017 she opened her first restaurant, Bootlegger, in Koh Samui, Thailand. She is currently in the initial stages of launching Bootlegger 2 in Phuket in 2018, and is looking to open Bootlegger 3 in Bangkok in 2019. She is currently working towards stepping into the world of food and travel presenting. As an entrepreneur herself, Christina co-founded the charity initiative Project Gen Z in 2015 to teach orphaned Cambodian children entrepreneurial skills. A British expat born and raised in Hong Kong, Christina has worked across the globe, and has lived in Thailand, London, Hong Kong, Australia and South Africa over the years.

Prep Time: 00:15

Recipe Time: 00:15

Temperature : 149F / 65C

Ingredients

• 6 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 teaspoon peanut oil, optional
• 1 pomelo, peeled and flesh removed from membrane
• 1 tablespoon shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted
• 1 tablespoon fried shallots
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cilantro leaves, torn
• 1 1/2 teaspoons mint leaves, torn
• 2 small red Thai chiles, thinly sliced and deseeded if desired
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons palm sugar or packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 tablespoon roasted red chile paste, optional
• 1/2 kaffir lime leaf, thinly sliced, for serving

Directions

1. Set the Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker to 149ºF (65ºC).
2. Place the shrimp in a large zipper lock or vacuum seal bag with the peanut oil. Seal the bag using the water immersion technique or a vacuum sealer on the moist setting. Make sure to keep the shrimp in a single layer.
3. Place the bag in the water bath and set the timer for 15 minutes.
4. While the shrimp are cooking, prepare the salad: Combine the pomelo, coconut, shallots, cilantro, mint, and 1 chile in a medium bowl.
5. Combine fish sauce, palm sugar, lime juice, and red chile paste (if desired) in a mortar and pestle. Pound to combine.

Finishing Steps

1. When the timer goes off, remove the bag from the water bath. Transfer to an ice bath to cool. Combine the cooled shrimp with the pomelo mixture and toss with the dressing. Transfer to a plate and garnish with kaffir lime and remaining chile. Serve.