Vegetarian “Pork Belly” Salad

Why It Matters

The salad demonstrates how Vietnamese culinary techniques can elevate plant‑based dining, offering chefs a blueprint for introducing rare, nutritious ingredients to mainstream markets.

Key Takeaways

• Winged beans, rare in US, add crunchy texture.
• Vegetarian pork belly made from layered tofu, rice flour, baguette.
• Fresh herbs like rau càng cua provide peppery, citrus notes.
• Homemade fermented soybean sauce (tương) ties flavors together.
• Dish showcases Vietnamese emphasis on texture, minimal bruising.

Summary

The video introduces a vegetarian "pork belly" salad that reinterprets classic Vietnamese flavors using plant‑based ingredients. Chef Mai highlights the rarity of winged beans—also called dragon beans—in the United States and demonstrates how they are blanched and sliced to provide a crisp, feather‑like texture. Key components include a multi‑layered tofu brick formed from rice flour, coconut milk, and a sliced Vietnamese baguette, then fried to a golden crisp that mimics pork belly’s mouthfeel. The salad is assembled with pink pomelo, golden berries, carrots, ice plant, and the peppery‑citrus rau càng cua, all tossed lightly to preserve crunch. A fermented soybean sauce (tương) enriched with peanuts, coconut water, and leeks ties the dish together. Chef Mai repeatedly emphasizes the visual and tactile parallels to meat, noting the “crunchy pork belly” appearance and the dish’s ability to convince even meat‑loving children to try vegetables. She also stresses the importance of cutting techniques and gentle handling to avoid bruising the delicate herbs. The creation underscores a growing trend toward innovative, plant‑forward Vietnamese cuisine that showcases under‑utilized ingredients. By translating rare regional produce into a familiar Western salad format, the dish could inspire broader adoption of Vietnamese flavors and support niche agricultural imports.

Original Description

Chef Luke Nguyen, restauranteur, author and television show host, shows us his creative Vegetarian “pork belly” salad. He makes a batter from tapioca starch, rice flour, and coconut milk layered with tofu and baguette. This is steamed then flash fried to create a finished product with an uncanny resemblance to pork belly. He serves the pork belly in a pomelo and herb salad.

Watch the full series at: https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/southeast-asia

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