Sadao Meat and Seafood Salad

Sadao Meat and Seafood Salad is a beloved Khmer dish that boasts the delightful combination of crisp sadao (edible leaves and flowers of Neem trees) and cucumber, complemented by grilled fish, boiled pork meat, and shrimp. This flavorful ensemble is enhanced by a savory tamarind sauce, creating a delicious and nutritious Khmer culinary experience. Sadao, known for its rich calcium and fiber content, is not only a culinary delight but also serves medicinal purposes, acting as a natural laxative to treat constipation.

To prepare this refreshing salad, begin by boiling 4 cups of water and quickly stirring the sadao in the boiling water before draining it in a colander. In a large bowl, mix thinly sliced cucumber with salt, squeezing out excess liquid and setting it aside. Grill a medium snakehead fish or ½ lb of basa fillet until cooked, then cut it into bite-sized pieces. Boil pork belly until tender, slice it thinly, and set it aside. Cook shrimp in the remaining boiled water until it turns a darker pink color, then drain, rinse, peel, and devein before setting it aside.

Combine the prepared sadao, cucumber, Asian coriander leaves, pork meat, fish, and shrimp in a large bowl. Mix in half a cup of the prepared tamarind sauce to tie the flavors together. Serve this delightful Sadao Meat and Seafood Salad immediately with rice, accompanied by the remaining tamarind sauce. This dish not only satisfies the taste buds but also showcases the nutritious qualities of sadao, making it a flavorful and wholesome addition to Khmer cuisine.

Ingredients

Directions to make Sadao Meat and Seafood Salad

1. Boiled 4 cups water in a large pot, put sadao in boiling water, stirs quickly and immediately pour sadao in to colander to drained, set it a side.
2. In a large bowl, mix sliced cucumber and salt together, squeezed liquid out from cucumber and set it a side.
3. Cooked fish on hot grill, when fish cooked set a side to cool then cut it to bite sizes and set a side.
4. Boiled meat with 4 cups water till meat tender, removed cooked pork meat from boiling water, sliced thin and set a side.
5. Add shrimp to remaining boiled water, cook till shrimp turns darkers pink color, drained cooked shrimp in a colander, rinsed under cold water, peeled, deveined and set a side.
6. In large bowl, mixed sadao with cucumber, Asian coriander leaves, pork meat, fish, shrimp and ½ cup prepared tamarind sauce.

Serve immediately with rice and remaining tamarind sauce.

Related Recipe: Shrimp Salad