On the upcoming Full Moon of August, but you still don’t know how to prepare a delicious vegetarian dish to treat the family? Then today let’s refer to TasteVN for 2 extremely simple ways to make grapefruit salad to refresh the flavors for the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion! Get cooking right away!
1. Vegetarian Grapefruit Salad with Fried Tofu Skin
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Preparation
16 minutes
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Cooking
45 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Vegetarian Grapefruit Salad with Fried Tofu Skin For 4 people
Fresh fried tofu skin 150 gr Grapefruit 300 gr Calamondin 1 fruit Carrot 1 root Cucumber 2 fruits Horn chili 2 fruits Vietnamese balm A little Roasted peanuts 50 gr Fried onions 50 gr Minced garlic 2 teaspoons Chili powder 2 teaspoons Cooking oil 50 ml Vegetarian fish sauce 3 teaspoons Vegetarian seasoning 1 teaspoon Common spices A little (salt/ sugar/ pepper)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh carrots
- Good carrots will have a bright orange color; choose those that are of medium size because if they are too large, they are old carrots, and if they are too small (except for mini carrots), they are still young and lack distinctive flavor.
- Observe the carrot leaves; the greener the leaves, the fresher the carrot, as it has just been harvested. Conversely, if the leaves are less green, the carrot has been stored for a longer time and is less sweet.
- Do not buy carrots that feel slightly soft when pressed; these are wilting carrots, and they will not taste good when cooked.
See details: How to choose fresh carrots
How to choose fresh cucumbers
- You should choose cucumbers that are bright green and evenly colored. Choose cucumbers that are long and uniform in size instead of short and round ones.
- It is advisable to select heavier cucumbers with fewer bumps and to choose those with a few spines on the body, as these will taste sweeter when eaten.
- You should not buy cucumbers that are swollen, larger in the middle, or have a large head and a small tail, as these are old cucumbers with many seeds, tough, and not tasty.
See details: How to choose fresh cucumbers
How to prepare Vegetarian Pomelo Salad with Fried Tofu Skin
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Prepare the ingredients
Peel the carrot, wash it clean. Soak the cucumber in salt, wash it clean, leave the skin on, and remove the insides. Wash the chili pepper, remove the seeds. After cleaning these three types of vegetables, cut them into thin strips.
Soak the Vietnamese balm in salt, wash it clean, and cut it small.
Cut the kumquat in half and squeeze out the juice. Keep some peanuts whole, while grind the rest into a powder for garnishing the salad.
Fresh tofu skin is washed thoroughly with water 2-3 times, then soaked in water for about 5-7 minutes, drained, and shredded.
For the pomelo, peel it and separate each segment to get the pomelo flesh.
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Marinate and fry the tofu skin
After shredding the fresh tofu skin, marinate it for 20 minutes with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of vegetarian seasoning, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, and 1 teaspoon of minced garlic.
Next, add 50ml of cooking oil to a pan and fry the tofu skin over medium heat until golden and crispy. Once fried, place the tofu skin on a sieve to drain the oil and wait for it to cool completely before mixing the salad.
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Prepare the sauce
Put into a pot 3 tablespoons of vegetarian fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and bring to a boil to thicken the mixture. When the sugar has dissolved, wait 15 minutes for the fish sauce to cool down, then add 1 teaspoon of garlic, 1 teaspoon of minced chili, and the juice of calamansi, and stir well.
Divide the fish sauce into two parts, one part for mixing the salad and one part for dipping.
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Mix the salad
Put all types of vegetables and fruits into a large bowl, then add fresh tofu skin, fried shallots, roasted peanuts, and 1 portion of the sauce, and mix well so that the ingredients are blended and absorb the flavors.
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Product
You serve it on a plate, decorated with roasted peanuts, and carrot flowers for an eye-catching dish, don’t forget the sweet and sour fish sauce that comes with it!
Vegetarian grapefruit salad with fragrant mushroom is appealing. Try a piece, and you’ll feel the grapefruit segments bursting with a sour and sweet taste, extremely appetizing.
Along with that are the chewy mushroom, crunchy fresh vegetables, and the nutty flavor of peanuts. This dish is perfect when served with shrimp chips or grilled rice paper.
2. Vegetarian Grapefruit Salad with Mushrooms
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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Vegetarian Grapefruit Salad with Mushrooms Serves 4
Pink grapefruit 1 fruit Oyster mushrooms 300 gr Thai basil 3 sprigs Chopped chili 1 teaspoon Roasted sesame 20 gr Lemon juice 1 tablespoon Cooking oil 50 ml Vegetarian fish sauce 1.5 tablespoons Sugar/salt a little
How to choose delicious oyster mushrooms
- Fresh and delicious oyster mushrooms will have white or gray stems, large and sturdy caps, and bright colors.
- You should choose oyster mushrooms that grow in clusters, with thin and smooth fibers under the cap, as these are fresh and just harvested mushrooms.
- When smelling fresh oyster mushrooms, they will have the characteristic aroma of mushrooms, and they feel firm to the touch.
- It is best to buy packaged oyster mushrooms, with careful packaging, clearly printed origin, and information such as production date and expiration date.
- Do not buy oyster mushrooms if you see them leaking water, being slimy, bruised or having a strange smell, as these are spoiled mushrooms and cannot be used.
See details: How to choose delicious fresh oyster mushrooms
How to make Vegetarian Grapefruit Salad with Mushrooms
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Prepare the ingredients
After buying the oyster mushrooms, cut off the part of the stem that is covered with dirt, soak the mushrooms in a diluted salt water solution for about 15 minutes. Then take them out, rinse with clean water, and let them dry.
Next, tear the oyster mushrooms into strands.
Peel the grapefruit, take the grapefruit segments and break them into small bite-sized pieces.
Tip: When peeling the grapefruit to take out the segments, be careful to cut so that about 1/2 of the grapefruit peel remains intact, so that after making the salad, you can use the grapefruit peel to serve, making the dish even more attractive.
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Fried mushrooms
Place a pan on the stove, add 50ml of cooking oil and heat the oil over medium heat.
When the oil in the pan starts to boil, gradually add the oyster mushrooms, increase the heat to high, and stir continuously until the mushrooms are evenly golden, then remove them onto a plate (lined with paper towels) to drain the oil.
Tip: You should not fry the mushrooms on low heat, as the longer you fry them, the more water they will release, losing their natural crunch and sweetness. Also, you only need to fry the mushrooms until they are slightly golden before you can take them out!
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Making the dipping sauce for the salad
To make the salad dressing, prepare the following ingredients in a bowl: 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1.5 tablespoons of vegetarian fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of lime juice, and 3 tablespoons of water. Stir all the ingredients together until dissolved.
Finally, add about 1 teaspoon of minced chili to the sauce and stir well.
Tip: You can taste the dressing to see if it has the right balance of sour, salty, and sweet flavors. If not, adjust the seasoning to suit your family’s taste!
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Completion
First, you take about 1 grapefruit segment into a small bowl, add about 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1/2 tablespoon of salt, mix well and gently squeeze the grapefruit segment with your hands to release the juice and mix with the seasoning.
Next, you add the fried mushrooms and the remaining grapefruit segments into a bowl, mix gently and then pour all the grapefruit sauce you just made into it and mix the mixture well.
Finally, add a little roasted sesame and basil leaves into the salad bowl and mix again for the ingredients to blend and absorb the flavors evenly.
Tip: For the dipping sauce to accompany the salad, you can either add a little to the salad mixture or serve it separately in a bowl as you prefer.Now let’s present the dish, you put the grapefruit peel on a plate, then add the mixed salad into the grapefruit peel, sprinkle a little sesame on top, decorate with a few basil leaves, and place the bowl of dipping sauce next to it, and it’s ready to go.
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Finished Product
The grapefruit salad with vegetarian mushrooms is decorated in a very “luxurious” way, just like in a restaurant.
The grapefruit salad has a beautiful light pink color, and when eaten, it has a sour and sweet taste along with the fragrant aroma of basil. This salad is sure to delight your whole family.
How to Choose Good Grapefruit for Salad
- You should choose grapefruit that has a firm, shiny, slightly yellow skin, and a round shape. When holding the grapefruit, if it feels heavy, then it is a good grapefruit; if you tap it, you will hear a “pop” sound, indicating it’s juicy and has a slight bounce.
- For the salad, you should choose grapefruit with white or slightly pink flesh, with long, slightly dry segments to keep the grapefruit pieces fluffy. If the grapefruit is too watery, it will easily become mushy and not tasty when made into salad.
See details: How to Choose Fresh Grapefruit
Concept of Eating Grapefruit During the Mid-Autumn Festival
- Grapefruit is not just a type of fruit used for eating or making drinks or as an ingredient in dishes. Grapefruit also holds a significance, especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival, where the image of large, round, juicy, and green grapefruits is indispensable.
- In Chinese, grapefruit also means “reunion,” gathering with family. Therefore, some families still preserve the tradition of eating grapefruit or using grapefruit to make salads for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
See more:
Above are 2 recipes for vegetarian grapefruit salad with a sweet and sour blend, both delicious and light for the Mid-Autumn Festival to be more interesting. Wishing you success with the recipes shared by TasteVN!
