Keys to
Using Recipes

Disclaimer on
Vietnamese
Spelling

Daikon Salad with Shrimp and Pork
Nom Cu Cai ~ "Gnome Koo Kai"

Green payaya is an alluring sounding and delicious salad but it's not always easy to get a hold of green papaya. Readily available daikon may be used as a substitute to make a very similar tasty dish.

Serves 6.

2 pounds tender young daikon radish (no thicker than 11/2 inches), peeled
2½ teaspoons sugar
½ pound medium shrimp, about 2-2 ½ inches long (36-40 or 41-50 count)
1 boneless pork tenderloin chop (about ¼ pound)
3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro or rau ram

Dressing:
¼ cup lime juice (about 1½ fat, juicy limes)
2½ tablespoons sugar
2½ tablespoons fish sauce
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1-2 Thai bird chili peppers, cut into thin rings or finely chopped

1. Shred the daikon. Shred the daikon using a Japanese Benriner mandoline-type slicer, or run it through your food processor, using the largest shredder blade. You want to yield strands about 2½ to 3-inches long. Put the daikon in a bowl and toss with the sugar. Let it sit until it's weeping water, about 30 minutes. Rinse it under lots of cold water to wash off the sugar. Extract excess liquid by wringing batches of daikon in a kitchen towel. Three wrings should do the trick to force enough water from the daikon without completely crushing it. Transfer to a bowl, fluffing it up to release it from its cramped state.

2. The shrimp and pork. Peel and devein the shrimp. Fill a small saucepan halfway with water and add 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring this pot to a rolling boil over high heat. Put in the shrimp and turn off the heat. When the shrimp have curled up nicely and are pinkish orange-3 to 5 minutes tops for medium shrimp-use a slotted spoon to remove them from the hot water. Set them aside to cool. When the shrimp are cool enough to handle, hand shred the shrimp, depositing it in the bowl containing the daikon.

Trim any excess fat from the pork chop. Bring the saucepan back to a rolling boil and drop in the pork chop. When the water returns to a boil, turn off the heat and cover tightly with a lid. Let it 'cook' for 20 minutes. It should be firm to the touch, but still yielding a bit. Remove from the pan and let cool. When cool enough to handle, julienne the pork and add to the daikon and shrimp. Place the chopped cilantro or rau ram on top.

3. Make the dressing, toss and serve. Combine all the ingredients for the dressing, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Right before serving, toss the salad with the dressing. (If you don't want to unexpectedly bite into a piece of chili pepper, strain the dressing over the salad.) Taste and adjust the flavors to your liking, balancing out the sour, sweet, salty and spicy.

NOTES & TIPS

Advance Preparation - Prepping the vegetables and poaching the shrimp and pork may be done the day before and kept refrigerated under plastic wrap.