Thai Banana Flower Salad

I want to preface this Thai banana blossom salad recipe by stating it's old, posted originally in 2012. The restaurant that inspired this dish still exists, but this banana blossom salad is no longer on the menu. Further, it's unusual to include curry paste in any Thai salad recipe, but just because it's not traditional doesn't mean the recipe isn't still good.

The Vegetarian Cottage is owned by a company called Spa Foods, one of Thailand's biggest producers of faux meat products. For years I've been meaning to get to one of their Bangkok restaurants, but they're all a little inconveniently located out of the city centre.

I ordered a "spicy" banana blossom salad (that wasn't spicy). It was made with a creamy coconut sauce with no overwhelming flavours, just a moderately sweet curry base with a tangy undertone. Texturally it was sublime, with a mix of crunchy, chewy, and soft components. I knew I'd find a way to work the basic concept of this dish into a recipe at home, and here's what came out.

Cracking and toasting the coconut

I'm a fan of fresh coconut, and when it comes to Asian food I will always choose it over desiccated and dried varieties. I realise not everyone has the time nor patience, but the results are well worth the trouble. I have a double ended coconut grater/scraper I purchased in a Thai market, but a regular ol' grater will suffice. When you toast this, go about it the same as you would dried coconut. Don't worry about getting all the moisture out, though – just get some brown on the meat before setting it aside to cool.

A note on ingredients

Mint, chives, coriander, basil (sweet or lemon types), chilli, spring onion, or any other South East Asian herb will work as a topping, so you can be selective. Personally I went for a mix of sawtooth coriander (if you love coriander, seek this extra potent variety out), sweet basil and spring onion. Oh, and I dare you to not be obsessed with fried lime leaves after trying them. Just make sure they're fresh, not dried (check the frozen section of an Asian grocer).

If you live in or around London, it's possible to purchase bags of pre shredded banana flower. There are half a dozen or so Vietnamese shops along Mare Street in Hackney which sell this and every other Vietnamese herb you could desire. Alternatively, if you want to stay central, Loon Fung on Gerrard Street (Chinatown) stocks a limited quantity of the same ingredients in the produce aisle as you come through the main entrance.

And a quick note on the tofu: realistically you could use anything, but the creamy texture of the softest variety you can work with is best. Tubes of soft tofu are perfect because you can cut straight through the packaging with any decent knife, and feed the contents out as you slice. Use the knife to transfer the slices straight to the starch. Incidentally you can use another starch if you don't have potato flour – I just like the gummy texture imparted by this particular ingredient when it's fried and then hits some liquid.

📖 Recipe

Print Recipe

Thai Banana Blossom Salad With Soft Pepper Tofu

Inspired by a meal at a longstanding vegetarian restaurant in Bangkok, this banana flower salad is designed to be served with rice and would also pair nicely with an additional dish such as a soup or curry.

Servings: 2 servings

Ingredients

• ¼ cup fresh grated coconut
• 120 millilitres coconut milk or coconut cream ½ cup
• 1 teaspoon vegetable or coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon red curry paste see notes¹
• 4 teaspoons palm sugar 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon
• 1 teaspoon Thai light/thin soy sauce see notes²
• 1 heaped cup shredded banana blossom 55 grams
• 2 teaspoons fresh finely chopped lemongrass
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 3 tablespoons potato starch 35 grams
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 5 ½ inch slices from a tube of soft tofu
• 5 fresh makrut lime leaves
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh Southeast Asian herbs e.g. sawtooth coriander, Thai basil, spring onion
• 2 teaspoons fried shallots See notes³
• 2 teaspoons toasted crushed peanuts
• Fresh lime wedges

Instructions

Make the dressed banana blossom

• First you'll need to toast the coconut. Heat a nonstick pan to medium and add the fresh coconut. Stir constantly until it begins to dry out and the colour shifts to a toasty light brown or beige. Tip the coconut into a bowl to cool.
• Next, make the coconut sauce for the salad. Add the coconut milk, oil, and curry paste to a medium saucepan. Heat to medium and simmer, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. Add the palm sugar and soy sauce. Cook for another minute or so, just to dissolve the sugar.
• Turn the heat down to low and tip the shredded banana flower, most of the coconut, and the lemongrass into the curry liquid. Stir to combine and cook on low heat for another 2-3 minutes.
• Transfer the contents of the pan to a serving dish.

Fry the tofu

• Mix the starch and pepper together on a plate and gently coat the tofu rounds.
• Heat at least 3 inches of oil in a large wok or pan to medium high heat. Carefully add the tofu to the hot oil and fry for a couple of minutes, until the tofu is crispy and starting to brown. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on mesh or kitchen roll.
• Turn the heat off and toss the makrut lime leaves into the oil, which will still be plenty hot. Fry for just a few seconds and then use the spider strainer to remove to the kitchen roll with the tofu.

To serve

• Top the already plated banana blossom with the fried tofu and fried lime leaves. Sprinkle with herbs, fried shallot, peanut, and any remaining toasted coconut. Serve with fresh lime.

Notes

1. You can use a storebought red curry paste or my red curry paste recipe.
2. For an explanation of types of soy sauces used in Thai cooking, see my Thai soy sauce primer.
3. You can buy fried shallots from shops, but they're flavourless compared to making your own.