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Banana Flower Salad with Grilled Shrimp and Chicken |
I learned to make this beautiful salad using banana flowers in Thailand at the Blue Elephant Cooking School. I was doubly interested because we have a large grove of bananas at home in Kauai. If you are not familiar with banana flowers, take a look at the top photo. This is what banana flowers looks like. The inner leaves of this flower tastes like raw artichokes!
With each new crop of bananas, down drops a big fat purple flower. The flower feeds the baby bananas until they are ready to pick. I wait until the baby bananas start to fatten before I chop of the flower. Every time we have crop of bananas, I make this incredible salad. This recipe is the Asian version of an Italian Raw Artichoke Salad.
Preparing
the banana flower is the next step. Peel back all the purple leaves and
discard the tiny developing bananas inside. When you get deep down into
the center of the flower pod, you will see the leaves change from deep
purple to golden white. Now, you have the good stuff, in the core. I shred the leaves, as I peel back the layers, I
also taste much of them. If woody, keep peeling until it tastes like
fresh baby artichoke. Soak the julienne banana flower in water and lemon
juice, because they will brown.
When I am in Los Angeles, I have ordered fresh banana flowers from the local markets. If you can't find banana flowers, use raw artichoke heart. The Blue Elephant Cooking School recommended raw cauliflower, if fresh artichokes are out of season.
The most
unusual ingredient in my recipe is the Nam Prik Pla Sauce which is a
jarred condiment. Nam Prik Pla is a smooth sauce of pulverized peanuts,
shrimp, shallots, sweetener, fish sauce and oil. The flavor is unique,
there is no other substitution, at the moment! Nam Prik Pla, not
so hard to find in Los Angeles. Go to Bangkok Market on Melrose Avenue.
Nam Prik Pla , hard to find in Kauai! I was lucky to find a Thai
restaurant on the island. I begged the owners for a jar, even tho I really needed just a few tablespoons.
The
rest is easy, shred a peeled apple and add segments of pommello or a
pink grapefruit . Grill some shrimp and chicken, shred those. Make the
dressing and mix everything in a large bowl. Add lovely bits of
cilantro and a little scallion for added flavor and some roasted
peanuts, almonds or macadamia nuts.
From the Blue Elephant Cooking School and Restaurant
Banana Flower Salad
(Yam Hua Pee)
Makes 4 Servings
Ingredients:
2 Banana flower (can substitute shredded cauliflower or raw hearts of artichokes)
6 tablespoons lemon juice
5 ounces chicken thighs , grilled and shredded
8 each large prawns, cooked and coarsely chopped
1 apple, peeled and sliced
1 pomello or a pink grapefruit, segments
Dressing:
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon dried shrimps, finely crushed
4 tablespoon tamarind juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
8 tablespoons Palm sugar or brown sugar
4 teaspoons Nam Prik Pha sauce -jarred
4 tablespoons shredded coconut, unsweetened and toasted
4 tablespoons coconut milk
4 tablespoons peanuts, roasted and finely crushed
2 tablespoons cilantro
2 tablespoons scallions, sliced
For the garnish:
12 shallots, finely sliced
½ cup vegetable oil for deep frying
4 hard boiled quail’s eggs
Preparation:
Cut the banana flower in half vertically. Remove the small, unripe bananas inside and discard. Slice the flowers horizontally into fine segments about 1 inch wide. Add 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice to water, and then immerse them for 1 minute so that they remain white.
Mix together the palm sugar, fish sauce, tamarind juice, lemon juice, and the Nam Prik Pha in the salad bowl. Mix together all the ingredients, except for the coconut milk and the peanuts, in a bowl. Toss until thoroughly combined. Add the coconut and peanuts last and toss lightly.
To make the golden fried shallot garnish, deep-fry the shallots in
oil for about 2 minutes until golden brown. Remove and drain on
absorbent paper. Set aside.
Remove the ingredients to a serving dish and sprinkle with golden fried shallots and boiled quail egg. Serve at room temperature.