Vietnamese Salad and Rice Pancakes
This gorgeous fresh salad is so much fun to eat. Fold a little salad into a rice pancake and devour for lunch or a spring evening meal.
Ingredients
Method
Rice Pancakes
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 3 tbsp rice flour
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 cup coconut milk
- handful fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
The salad
- 500g Chicken Mince
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar or palm sugar
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced (optional)
- 1 red onion, finely sliced
- 1 red pepper, finely sliced
- Handful each of baby spinach leaves, fresh mint leaves and fresh coriander leaves
- 1 cup telegraph or Lebanese cucumber, deseeded and sliced
- Make the salad first and then set aside to soak up the flavours. First heat a little vegetable oil in a frypan and brown the chicken mince. Keep the chicken a little lumpy – but make sure it’s crispy and golden. Remove from the pan.
- In a bowl mix together the lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, fish sauce and brown sugar. Allow this to sit a while until the sugar has dissolved. Then add the cooled chicken mince to the sauce, cover and set aside. We’ll make up the salad at the last minute so that it’s fresh, firm and doesn’t wilt.
- To make the pancakes simply combine all the ingredients well. Chill for 10 to 15 minutes. Then heat a little vegetable oil in a frypan over a medium heat and spoon a tablespoon of mixture into the pan. Check the underside by lifting with a spatula. When golden, flip the pancake and brown the other side. Remove from the pan and place on a paper towel – cover and keep warm. Repeat until you have finished the mixture.
- To make up the salad simply toss together the red chilli, onion, pepper, spinach, mint, coriander and cucumber. Add the chicken mince and the sauce and toss through. Serve alongside the pancakes – allowing each diner to make up their own.