Mushroom Waterfall Salad
By OcadoLife
Published on 17 June 2024
MasterChef finalist and restaurateur Andy Oliver brings lesser-known Thai flavours to British
barbecues with this vegan Mushroom Waterfall Salad. Known as nahm dtok – meaning
waterfall – it’s usually made with beef or pork, but Andy has gone for meaty mushrooms
instead: “The waterfall element refers to the juices that drip as the meat cooks, and
mushrooms do a similar thing,” he explains. “The toasted ground rice is a traditional way of
adding texture and nutty flavour.” Serve as part of a spread.Time and servings
30 minsTotal time
4Servings
15 minsPrep time
15 minsCooking time
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp caster sugar, plus a pinch for the marinade
- 1 tsp flavourless oil, such as sunflower or groundnut
- 150g king oyster mushrooms, sliced lengthways 2 cm thick
- 40g thai sticky rice or jasmine rice
- 20g dried hot red chillies
- 3 limes (approx.), juiced (to give 3 tbsp)
- 2½ tbsp vegan fish sauce
- 1 echalion shallot, thinly sliced
- 25g coriander, leaves picked
- 25g mint, leaves picked
Method
Step 1
In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, pinch of sugar and oil to make a marinade. Tip in the mushrooms; toss to coat. Set aside.Step 2
Toast the rice in a dry frying pan over a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden. Leave to cool briefly; grind to a coarse powder using a spice grinder or pestle and mortar. Put in a bowl.Step 3
In the same pan, toast the chillies until darkened and slightly blackened in places. As before, cool briefly; grind to a powder.Step 4
To make a dressing, mix the lime juice, 1 tsp sugar, fish sauce and 1 tbsp water in a small bowl, until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the toasted chilli powder. Adjust to taste with more sugar, fish sauce or lime juice – it should be sour, spicy, smoky and a little salty, in that order.Step 5
Place the mushrooms on the barbecue grill (or use a griddle plate) directly over the coals and cook for 2-3 mins; turn, cook for 90 secs more or until smoky and charred. Remove to a board to cool a little; cut into bite-sized pieces.Step 6
In a serving bowl, toss the mushrooms with half each of the rice powder and dressing. Toss in the shallots, coriander and mint, pour over the remaining dressing and scatter with the remaining rice powder.