Cucumber salad with Vietnamese fried pork

Serves 4-6 Preparation time 20 minutes plus marinating time Cooking time 10 minutes The flavour of cucumber is the essence of summer and truly comes into its own in this salad – as long as you use the freshest cucumber and coriander leaves, of course. The pork is optional and the salad works just as well without it if you prefer serving this as a side dish at a braai. The salad dressing with shallot oil might seem to require a little effort, but you’ll have plenty left over to add flavour to other dishes later on.

You need

FOR THE SHALLOT OIL • 1 cup (250ml) avocado oil • 1 cup (250ml or 100g) shallots or red

onions, cut into thin slices

FOR THE SHALLOT SALAD DRESSING • 4 tablespoons (60ml) shallot oil

(see method below) • 1 teaspoon (5ml) soy sauce • 1 teaspoon (5ml) honey or sugar • 3 tablespoons (45ml) sesame seeds,

toasted

FOR THE PORK • ¼ cup (60ml) fish sauce or soy sauce • ½ cup (125ml) shallot oil or

sunflower oil • 2 tablespoons (30ml) brown sugar • 4 spring onions • 2 garlic cloves • a handful of coriander leaves • 1 chilli, seeds removed

(or 2 tablespoons – 30ml – chilli sauce) • 400-600g pork fillet

FOR THE SALAD • 100g asparagus • a large bunch fresh coriander • 2 cucumbers • ½ cup (125ml) peanuts, roasted • 2-4 tablespoons (30-60ml) shallots,

stir-fried

This is how

Make the shallot oil Heat the oil in a saucepan and caramelise the shallots for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. They mustn’t burn and should slowly turn crisp. Drain the shallots on kitchen paper and set aside to use later. Pour the oil into a jar. Make the salad dressing Combine all the ingredients and set aside. Cook the pork Pulse all the ingredients (apart from the pork) in a food processor, place the mixture in a plastic bag with the pork fillet and refrigerate overnight to marinate. (If you’re pressed for time, an hour or two would also be fine.) Make sure the pork is at room temperature before you cook it. Heat a heavy-based cast-iron pan to smoking point and fry the pork for 2-3 minutes per side until caramelised all over and cooked. Remove from the pan, cover with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes before cutting into small pieces. Make the salad Use a potato peeler to slice the asparagus into thin strips. Soak the coriander leaves in ice water for 10 minutes, press them dry and chop finely. Cut the cucumber into cubes – peel it beforehand if you like. Place the asparagus, coriander and cucumber in a dish. Scatter with peanuts and fried shallots. Finally, drizzle the salad dressing over and add the pork pieces just before serving. >