A new recipe from the Central Plain of Thailand to learn how to cook banana blossom. You can also make this recipe with endives. Their slight bitterness will go wonderfully well with the sweet and spicy seasoning of this little-known salad. Serves 2.
1 banana blossom (or 2 endives) 2 limes 50 g shallots Vegetable oil for frying 1 tablespoon bird eye chillies, dry 1 tablespoon roasted chili paste 1 teaspoon chili powder 4 tablespoons coconut cream 1 tablespoon fish sauce 300 grams shrimps, peeled and deveined To garnish: chopped coriander leaves
Prepare the banana blossom: Fill a large bowl with water and squeeze 1 lemon into it. Remove the outer leaves (you can save them for presentation, but they are too hard to eat). Remove the white strips (baby bananas!). Slice the base and top of the blossom and cut it in half (cut 2 times lengthwise). Then, cut into ½ cm slices. Immerse the sliced leaves in lemon water.
Slice the shallots. Fry half of the shallots in oil over medium heat until golden and crispy (about 3-4 minutes). Transfer to kitchen paper and set aside. Fry the bird eye chillies for about 1 minute. Transfer to kitchen paper and set aside. Using 2 tablespoons of the same oil, stir-fry the drained banana leaves for about 5 minutes. Reserve.
Cook the shrimps for about 2 minutes with roasted chili paste, chili powder, coconut cream and fish sauce. Remove from heat. Then add the remaining shallots (raw shallots) and the banana leaves. Mix well.
Transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with fried shallots, chilli peppers and coriander leaves.