Recipe

Deep-Fried Basil Salad

Deep-Fried Basil Salad
  • This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Recipe Using Fresh Basil
  • Chef

    vrunka's Notes: This recipe was inspired by a marvel of a salad served at Sriphiphai Thai Restaurant in New York. It features deep-fried watercress which sounds like an impossibility, but winds up as revelation...

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Serves 4

  1. Wash and dry the basil leaves. Set aside.

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  2. In a medium-sized bowl, slowly add the water to the tempura flour, whisking to combine well.

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  3. In a large skillet, heat the oil to 350 degrees. Working quickly, dip each basil leaf into the tempura batter then drop in the oil. Do about 10 leaves at a time. Pull out the leaves when they are crisp and slightly brown, about 1 minute. Drain on paper towels and repeat with the remaining leaves.

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  4. Drain off the oil in the skillet and wipe it out. Heat the skillet to medium high and toss the shrimp in the pan, sautéing for about 5 minutes or until pink. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.

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  5. Toss together the shrimp, apple and cashews and place on serving platter.

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  6. Combine all ingredients for the dressing, making sure the sugar completely dissolves. Pour over the shrimp mixture and toss to combine.

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  7. Top with fried basil leaves and serve.

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4 Comments on Deep-Fried Basil Salad

Reply

Oh! I've had that salad at Siphriphai and it's soooo good. And your version sounds even better!

Img_1884_tillie Reply

Thanks! Sriphiphai is a tough act to follow. This is pretty different from theirs, but I hope you still like it!

186003_1004761561_1198459_n Reply

Everything about this sounds soo unique and something I should try....sooon! Isn't the fish sauce overpowering? I want to see pics!

Img_1884_tillie Reply

I like fish sauce and use it in a lot of dishes, so I tend to use more of it than other might. Feel free to dial it back or replace it with half as much soy sauce if you prefer.

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