On family celebration days, try to mix things up a bit with two dishes: aloe vera salad with pork and fresh shrimp for the whole family to enjoy! Let’s get cooking and make these two mixed salads right away!
1. Aloe Vera Salad with Pork
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Preparation
30 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Aloe Vera Salad with Pork Serves 4
Pork 200 gr Aloe Vera 300 gr Cucumber 100 gr White Radish 100 gr Carrot 100 gr Chopped Chili 10 gr Roasted Peanuts 20 gr Vietnamese Coriander 50 gr Salt a little Fish Sauce 50 ml Sugar 30 gr Lemon Juice 20 ml
How to Choose Fresh Ingredients
How to Choose Good Pork
- You should choose the pork belly for mixing the salad so that the meat doesn’t become dry, remaining tender and delicious. Additionally, prioritize pieces of pork that are bright red or light pink, with a slightly firm surface and looking dry, not slimy.
- The skin should be pinkish-white, soft, and have good elasticity. Fresh pork has a distinctive smell, not an unpleasant odor or fishy scent.
How to choose fresh and delicious carrots
- Choose those with a slender, moderate shape, with the leaf stems still attached, and feel firm not too soft when picked up. Do not choose carrots that are bruised all over, have cracks that are not intact, or have a missing corner.
- Select carrots that have an intact outer skin, smooth, not rough, and without black spots.
- Choose carrots that are uniformly colored orange; avoid those that are too dark, as they may have been sprayed with chemicals.
How to choose fresh and delicious cucumbers
- Choose cucumbers that are bright green, evenly colored, without dark spots or yellowing.
- Cucumbers should be straight, not or slightly bent. Cucumbers that are long and uniform in size are the type with a tender flesh, which will be crunchier and tastier than shorter or round ones.
- It is advisable to select heavier cucumbers, soft, with a smooth skin, without bumps.
- Avoid buying cucumbers that bulge out, large in the middle, or with a big head and a small tail (and vice versa), as these are older cucumbers, with many seeds, tough, and not tasty.
- If you mistakenly buy a bitter cucumber, you can peel it to remove the bitter taste.
How to prepare Aloe Vera and Pork Salad
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Prepare the pork
You rinse the pork briefly with clean water, then soak it in diluted saltwater for 30 minutes and rinse it with clean water 2 – 3 more times, then let it drain.
When the pork is drained, you boil water and when the water is boiling, add the pork and cook with 5g of salt over medium heat for 15 minutes until the pork is tender. You take the pork out, let it cool, and then cut it into thin slices.
Tip to remove the smell of pork
- Normally, pork bought is rarely smelly, but if there is a bad smell, soak it in saltwater and rinse it with clean water.
- Then, blanch the pork in boiling water with crushed shallots and a bit of white wine. Take the pork out and rinse it with clean water before slicing and preparing.
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Prepare the aloe vera
You peel the aloe vera, cut it into bite-sized pieces, soak it in diluted saltwater for 10 minutes, and then rinse it thoroughly with clean water 4 – 5 times to reduce the sliminess. After that, you bring water to a boil, add the aloe vera and blanch it for 1 – 2 minutes over medium heat, then take it out and let it drain.
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Prepare other vegetables
You peel the carrots, white radish, wash them thoroughly, and cut them into small pieces. Cut the cucumber in half, remove the seeds, and cut into sections. After cutting, place the 3 ingredients in a large bowl, add 30g of salt, and marinate for 15 minutes to keep the ingredients crunchy and reduce some moisture.
Once marinated, squeeze out all the moisture from the vegetables.
Wash the Vietnamese coriander, and chop it finely.
Tip: Besides salt, you can use sugar for marinating, which helps the vegetables maintain their crunchiness and not become bitter.
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Make the dressing
Add 50ml of fish sauce to a bowl along with 30g of sugar, 20ml of lemon juice, and 10g of minced chili, then stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves.
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Mixing the salad
First, place the vegetables in a large bowl, followed by the boiled pork and aloe vera, then drizzle the dressing evenly over. Finally, add the Vietnamese coriander and roasted peanuts, then mix well to ensure the dressing is absorbed into all the ingredients.
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Final product
The salad is incredibly flavorful and refreshing with aloe vera, blended with fragrant boiled pork, and a slight richness that makes your family meal more appealing.
2. Fresh shrimp and aloe vera salad
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Preparation
30 minutes
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Processing
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Fresh Shrimp Aloe Vera Salad Serves 4
Shrimp 300 gr Aloe Vera 300 gr Herbs 50 gr Fish Sauce 50 ml Sugar 30 gr MSG 5 gr Salt 5 gr Lemon 20 gr Garlic Lard 50 gr
How to Choose Fresh, Delicious Shrimp
- Color: Fresh shrimp have a clear, bright shell. Do not choose shrimp that have turned cloudy, with black legs or heads, as these are old and not fresh.
- Shape: Fresh shrimp are straight, with tails curled together. The head and legs should be tightly attached to the body. Shrimp with detached heads and curved bodies are spoiled and should not be purchased.
- Touch: If the shrimp feels firm when held, it is fresh; if it feels soft and mushy, it is spoiled.
- Smell: Shrimp should not have a foul smell from being spoiled.
How to Make Fresh Shrimp Aloe Vera Salad
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Prepare the Shrimp
Wash the shrimp with diluted saltwater, then gently twist the head to separate it, remove the intestinal vein, peel off the shell, and rinse thoroughly with clean water. Additionally, if you want to keep the shrimp heads, soak the shrimp in diluted saltwater, then take them out, wash them again with clean water, and let them drain.
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Prepare the aloe vera
To easily separate the aloe vera, cut it into sections and then use a spoon to gently scoop out the aloe vera from the skin. After that, soak the aloe vera in dilute salt water for about 10 minutes, then rinse it with clean water 4 – 5 times to reduce its sliminess.
Next, boil water and briefly blanch the aloe vera in it for 2 minutes, then remove and let it drain.
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Prepare the vegetables
Peel the carrot, wash it clean, and cut it into small pieces. Wash the cucumber, then cut it into thin slices. Wash the herbs, and chop them finely.
Tip: To keep the carrot crisp and not bitter, mix it with sugar and marinate for 15 minutes, then discard the excess water.
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Boil the shrimp
Boil water, add the shrimp with 5g of salt, and boil for 10 minutes, then remove and let cool before starting to remove the heads and tails of the shrimp.
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Mixing Salad
You add vegetables and aloe vera into a large bowl, squeeze 20g of lemon juice along with 50g of garlic fat, 50ml of fish sauce, 30g of sugar, and 5g of monosodium glutamate, then mix well to let the seasoning soak into the ingredients.
Finally, you add Vietnamese coriander and mix the salad one more time to finish.
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Final Product
You place the shrimp on top, mix well to let the shrimp absorb the seasoning, and then enjoy the refreshing salad made from aloe vera, the crunchy freshness of vegetables, blended with the sweet, tender shrimp. Just one bite makes you want to grab another piece!
How to choose good aloe vera
- You should choose large aloe vera leaves so that after peeling, there is still more flesh inside compared to smaller leaves.
- The outer skin of the aloe vera should be bright green, without scratches or insect infestations.
- The thorns on both sides of the leaf should still be fresh and not wilted.
How to prepare aloe vera without bitterness
Method 1: Use coarse salt, sugar, and blanch in boiling water
- First, cut the aloe vera after peeling the skin into small cubes. Place the aloe vera in a bowl, then add 1 tablespoon of coarse salt and stir, then rinse thoroughly. Wash the aloe vera in a sieve under running water.
- Next, place the aloe vera in a pot of boiling water on the stove and blanch for about 15 seconds. Remove the aloe vera and place it in a bowl of cold water, then take it out again. Add about 100 – 150 grams of sugar to the bowl containing the aloe vera, use chopsticks to mix well, and let it sit for 2 hours. Finally, remove the aloe vera and start cooking.
Method 2: Use coarse salt, lemon, and sugar
- Cut the aloe vera after peeling the skin into small cubes. Use 1 tablespoon of coarse salt + 1/2 lemon (about 10 ml of lemon juice) + water in a large bowl, and stir well. Then, soak the aloe vera (cut into cubes) in the bowl for about 1 hour and then remove it to drain.
- Add about 100 – 150 grams of sugar and mix well with the aloe vera in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate for about 2 hours. Finally, use a sieve to remove the aloe vera for cooking.
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2 dishes aloe vera salad with pork and fresh shrimp not only taste good but also refreshing, so why not give it a try? Wish you success!
*Image and recipe source from the Youtube channel Cooking Addict and COOKING TODAY
