Green Jackfruit & Lotus Rootlet Salad

Ingredients
 Salad:
  • 2 cans green jackfruit, washed & drained
  • 1 jar lotus rootlets, washed & drained
  • ½ lb prawns, peeled & deveined
  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup shredded Vietnamese coriander leaves
  • 1 cup shredded spearmint leaves
  • 1 cup shredded Thai basil leaves
  • 1 cup shredded cilantro leaves
  • 2 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
  • ½ cup toasted pistachios
  • 2 tbsp shallot crisps

Dressing:

  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 2 Persian limes, juiced
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 4 bird’s eye chili peppers, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp Vietnamese fish sauce
Instructions
The jackfruit and lotus roots retain a lot of water, so it’s important that you wash and drain them ahead of time in order to get as much of the excess liquid out as possible. Blotting them with a towel helps to get whatever remaining liquid is left. Halve the lotus rootlets crosswise and then lengthwise. The jackfruit can be sliced into bite-size pieces.

When making the dressing for this salad, you want to make the simple syrup a little thicker than usual since you don’t want too much liquid in the salad. Dissolve sugar in the boiling water and let it reduce a bit. Pour this simple syrup into a small bowl to cool. Once cool, add the lime juice, garlic, chili peppers and fish sauce and stir together.  Set aside.

Throw jackfruit, rootlets, onion, herbs and sesame seeds into a salad bowl and toss well with dressing. You might think the amount of herbs is excessive, but they wilt down substantially while the other ingredients stay the same size. Adjust seasoning if needed. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Shortly before serving, sprinkle the prawns with a bit of sea salt, fresh ground pepper and a tiny bit of olive oil and throw them on a grill. Halve them lengthwise. Plate salad and sprinkle with shallot crisps and toasted pistachios. Top with prawns hot off the grill.