Pork and Prawn Sauce for Salads (Sốt thịt heo và tôm để trộn salad)

May 10, 2025

Pork and Prawn Sauce for Salads (Sốt thịt heo và tôm để trộn salad) © kvalifood.com

A warm, meaty Vietnamese sauce designed to be spooned over salads. Crispy pork belly strips and cooked prawns in a seasoned oil with garlic, shallots, and chilli oil. It turns a simple salad into a full dish - the warm, savoury sauce wilts the greens slightly and adds protein in one go.

Ingredients

150 g prawns, shelled
150 g pork belly, 1-cm strips, boiled 8 minutes
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp garlic, pounded
1 tbsp shallots, pounded
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp coarse black pepper
2 tsp fish sauce
1 heaped tsp sugar
1 tsp chilli oil (see page 337)

Directions

Heat the vegetable oil in a pan over high heat. Add the shelled prawns and cook for 1-2 minutes until they turn pink and are just cooked through. Remove and set aside.
In the same pan (or a fresh one with a bit more oil if needed), add the pre-boiled pork belly strips. Cook over medium-high heat until they turn slightly crispy on the outside.
Add the pounded garlic and pounded shallots to the pork. Cook, stirring, until they turn golden.
Season everything with the sea salt, coarse black pepper, fish sauce, sugar, and chilli oil. Stir for about 2 minutes to let the flavours combine.
Remove from heat and let the mixture cool slightly. Add the prawns back in and stir to combine.

Notes

The pork belly needs to be pre-boiled for 8 minutes before you start - this partially cooks it so it crisps up quickly in the pan.
Spoon this warm over a green salad or shredded vegetable salad.
The chilli oil referenced is the annatto-based Vietnamese chilli oil from this collection.