Blood orange and smoked salmon salad recipe
Fresh, zingy and ready to eat in a matter of minutes, this perfectly balanced salad is inspired by Latin American ceviche, but with a hint of Vietnamese flavour.
The recipe features in Vietnamese Made Easy by Thuy Pham, a Vietnamese-British restaurateur and author who is head chef and owner of the award-winning London restaurant, The Little Viet Kitchen. This particular dish was inspired by blood orange season (typically from early winter to early spring), she explains.
“My mission each year is to eat [blood oranges] in as many ways as possible from the start of the season to the end," she says. "From as far back as I can remember, I have always enjoyed cooking with fresh fruits and love the complexity of flavours that they bring to the plate.”
Things to note:
The núóc châm fish sauce needs to be cooled before serving, so can be made in advance to save time.
For US ingredients and measurements, use the drop-down menu and select 'Cups'.
Ingredients
For the salad:- 100 g núóc châm fish sauce (see below)
- 3 blood oranges, peeled and cut into 5mm rounds
- 200 g smoked salmon, torn into small pieces
- 100 g French (breakfast) radishes, thinly sliced
- 2 Persian cucumbers (or use 1 regular cucumber), thinly sliced
- 5 g mint, leaves picked
- 5 g coriander, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp tbsp ready-made crispy fried shallots
- 1 red chilli, thinly sliced
- 120 g caster sugar
- 50 ml lime juice
- 15 g garlic, minced
- 25 g red chillies, minced
- 50 ml fish sauce
Details
- Cuisine: Vietnamese-inspired
- Recipe Type: Salad
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 30 mins
- Cooking Time: 15 mins
- Serves: 2
Step-by-step
- First make the núóc châm fish sauce. Put the fish sauce, 100ml of water, the sugar and lime juice in a small saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Remove any impurities from the top of the sauce (if there are any), then take off the heat immediately and leave to cool.
- When completely cool, add the garlic and chillies and mix well; they should float to the top. Pour into an airtight bottle or jar with a lid. This makes 200ml of sauce and you can store the rest, covered, for up to five days in the fridge.
- Now make the salad. Arrange the oranges slices, salmon and sliced radishes and cucumber evenly over a serving plate, then pour over the nuόc châ´m fish sauce.
- Top with the mint and coriander (cilantro), then sprinkle over the crispy fried shallots and chilli slices.
Recipe adapted from Vietnamese Made Easy by Thuy Diem Pham (Quadrille, £22). Photography by Laura Edwards.
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