Preparation
20 minutes
Cooking
15 minutes
Difficulty
Easy
Change things up for the whole family with the lotus stem salad with shrimp, which is a pretty good idea during the days of abstaining from meat. The salad is crunchy, rich in sweet and sour flavors, spicy, and the plant-based shrimp is chewy, which will definitely make everyone love it. Let’s get cooking with TasteVN!
Ingredients for Lotus Stem Salad with Shrimp Serves 2
Lotus stem 300 gr Carrot 100 gr Lettuce 100 gr Plant-based shrimp 200 gr Vegetarian seasoning 1 teaspoon Garlic 5 cloves Sugar 3 tablespoons Vegetarian fish sauce 3 tablespoons Cilantro 1 gr Chili 3 pieces Kumquat 5 pieces
How to Choose Fresh Ingredients
How to Choose Good Lotus Stem
- Good lotus stem is fresh, not too big and not too thin.
- The stem has a slightly dark color or is muddy, indicating that it has not been bleached and is safe to use.
How to Distinguish Chinese Carrots
- Color: Chinese carrots have a dark orange color, almost red at the part near the leaves. Vietnamese carrots have a light orange color, with bright red near the leaves.
- Vein pattern: Chinese carrots have a rather faint vein pattern on the exterior.
- Shape: Chinese carrots are usually large, uniform in size, with shiny and beautiful skin.
- Carrot tops: Most Chinese carrots have to be cut cleanly at the top due to the freezing process for transportation to Vietnam. Therefore, the tops will not be fresh and may have black spots.
How to prepare Lotus Stem Salad with Vegetarian Shrimp
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Prepare the ingredients
Boil the vegetarian shrimp in boiling water for 10 minutes, then wash thoroughly with water and let it drain.
Wash the lotus stem, then slice it thinly into a bowl of ice water with squeezed lime. Soak for 20 minutes, then remove and drain.
Peel the carrot, wash it, and then slice it thinly.
Wash the lettuce and cilantro, let them drain, and then cut them into pieces.
Wash the green onion and chop it finely.
Peel the garlic and mince it.
Wash the chili pepper and mince it.
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Make the sauce
Heat a pan with a little oil, add the green onions and sauté until fragrant.
Next, add 1.5 tablespoons of vegetarian fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and stir well.
When the sugar has completely dissolved, transfer the sauce to a bowl and mix with 1 tablespoon of lime juice and 1 teaspoon of minced garlic and chili.
Note: You can adjust the seasoning to suit your taste.
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Sauté the shrimp
Next, add the vegetarian shrimp to the pan, 1 teaspoon of vegetarian seasoning, and stir well with chopsticks for 3 minutes to allow the shrimp to absorb the seasoning.
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Mix the salad
Add the lettuce, cilantro, carrot, lotus stem, and sautéed vegetarian shrimp into a large bowl, along with the prepared fish sauce. Use chopsticks or a spoon to mix well so that the salad absorbs the seasoning.
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How to make vegetarian salad dipping sauce
In a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of calamansi juice, 1.5 tablespoons of vegetarian fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of garlic and chili, and stir well.
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Final Product
Serve the salad on a plate, sprinkle some roasted peanuts or sesame seeds on top to finish.
The vegetarian lotus stem salad has a chewy texture from the shrimp, crunchy lotus stems, and a rich sweet and sour, slightly spicy fish sauce flavor. This dish pairs very well with rice or rice paper, both are delicious.
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Wish you success in making the vegetarian lotus stem salad to treat your family!
*Source of the recipe and images from the Youtube channel Bà Mẹ Quê.
