How to make delicious and crispy pig ear and lotus stem salad at home without turning black

How to prepare Pork Ear Salad with Lotus Stem

• 1

  Prepare the pork ear

  After purchasing the pork ear, you should cut off the inner ear canal, then wash and scrape clean in every nook and cranny of the pork ear.

  Note: You must scrape very clean and thoroughly, leaving no corner untouched for the pork ear to be tastier and not smell bad.

  Then use vinegar and salt or alum to scrub the pork ear in every nook, scrubbing thoroughly to remove the smell.

  Next, rinse the pork ear and boil it for 15 minutes, then you can turn off the heat, take the pork ear out and soak it in cold water to cool the pork ear and keep it white.

  Tip: To keep the pork ear whiter, you can add a bit of alum or lemon and salt to the soaking water.

  

  

  
• 2

  Prepare the vegetables

  You take 3 chili peppers, remove all the seeds and boil them in hot water for about 1 minute.

  For calamondin (lime), you squeeze it into a bowl.

  Shredded Vietnamese coriander just needs to be chopped small.

  You cut the lotus stem into short pieces about 5cm long and then split them in half lengthwise.

  Tip: To keep the lotus stem crunchy and looking white, you should soak the lotus stem in lemon water with a bit of salt.

  While soaking the lotus stems, you remove the seeds from the cucumber, cut the cucumber and carrot into long strips about 5cm long and 0.5 – 1cm thick, and slice the onion thinly.

  Tip:

  To make the cucumber crisper, you can mix it with a little sugar and soak it for about 5 minutes.

  To reduce the pungency of the onion for the salad, you should soak it in a bowl of diluted lemon juice and salt or in a bowl of ice water.

  

  

  

  
• 3

  Prepare the salad dressing

  You take about 25g of dressing mixed with 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 3 blanched chili peppers.

  Then put this mixture into a blender and blend until smooth.

  

  

  

  
• 4

  Mix the salad

  First, you need to take the pork ear out and cut it into long, thin strips.

  Then mix the pork ear, carrot, cucumber, onion, Vietnamese cilantro, and lotus stem with the prepared dressing.

  Finally, sprinkle a little Vietnamese cilantro, crushed peanuts, and fried onions on top and toss it 3 – 4 times to finish.

  

  
• 5

  Make the dipping sauce

  Chop 15g of chili and 10g of garlic finely. Then mix with 1 – 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of calamondin juice (lime), and stir until the mixture is well combined.

  
• 6

  Final product

  The Lotus Stem Salad with Pork Ear, when completed, has an appealing sweet and sour taste, with vegetables, lotus stem, and pork ear absorbing the flavors while still maintaining their crunchiness. You can enjoy this dish with some shrimp crackers and sweet and sour fish sauce for a wonderful experience.