December 27, 2019

Tempeh and Pomelo Salad with Avocado

It’s sweet, it’s sour, it’s spicy, salty and smoky. It’s fresh, it’s bright, it’s bursting with flavor. There are notes of nuttiness, crispiness, creaminess and crunch. It’s a Thai-inspired vegan pomelo salad, featuring tempeh and avocado! Each bite is a little different than the last, and each contains exciting flavors and textures to keep you coming back. It’s perfectly fresh and refreshing, to get yourself feeling nourished and ready to face the long winter day.

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Happy Healthy New Year

I think many of us try to eat healthier after the New Year- either as some kind of resolution, or just because the combination of Thanksgiving and Christmas having so much heavy food, you just feel the need to eat something light. This dish was inspired by one I had when I traveled down to Florida last year, and ate at a restaurant called Screaming Carrots. The dish brightened my mood, and I went from feeling worn out and heavy to feeling lighter and energized. Sometimes less really does mean more! I wanted to recreate that feeling for my sample here- I wanted to make a salad that was filling without being heavy, and was complex and flavorful while still being light and bright. I filled out the brightness of the pomelos with rich avocados, and smoky, nutty tempeh. A lime dressing really brings it all together!

Looking for Healthy, Fresh New Years Recipes? Try one of these!

So What Even is a Pomelo?

The world is filled with new citrus hybrids, from tangelos to limequats, and orangelos, and a name like pomelo fits right into the new citrus bunch. But pomelos actually date much further back, likely older than 100BC when it was first grown in China. A grapefruit is actually a cross between pomelos and an orange variety. So while pomelos are less common in the United States, they’ve been consumed across Asia for many years.

Pomelos are huge- they can reach the size of a basketball, and are the largest citrus fruit. They have thick rinds that vary in color from darker green to orange. The flesh inside is covered in a white skin that must be removed before eating, and is orange or white colored. Taste wise, they taste similar to their relative the grapefruit, but are sweeter and milder. They also have this neat ability to hold their juice and not burst all over your hand when you’re preparing them (helpful, as they need to be peeled). Nutritionally, pomelos contain a lot of vitamin C. They also contain fiber, iron, potassium, and protein and are low in calories.

How to Make Pomelo Salad

The toughest part of this salad is preparing the pomelo- it’s a little bit more work than I like putting into my fruit, but I promise it’s worth it. The rind on pomelos are thick, so using a knife to cut through the rind helps. Then peel off the rind and discard it. Next you want to remove the flesh of the pomelo from the white skin it’s incased in. You don’t need to get the slices out whole as they’ll be easier to eat in smaller pieces. I used a small knife to piece through the white skin, and then simply peeled away the skin to expose the flesh.

Other than that, this salad is some chopping, mixing a dressing, and cooking up some tempeh. I recommend starting with the tempeh, and ending with chopping your avocado. If you cut the avocado too early, it may turn brown (which is okay, but not pretty). We’re going to be adding a lime dressing that will slow the avocado from oxidizing, so cutting it late and dressing it soon after is your best bet!

Tempeh and Pomelo Salad with Avocado

Ingredients

8 oz. tempeh
1 tbsp. olive oil
½ tsp. smoked paprika
1 tbsp. + 2 tsp. soy sauce, divided (use Tamari for gluten-free)
1 large pomelo
2-3 scallions
1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 large shallot
1-2 Thai chilies
½ inch piece of ginger
2 cloves of garlic
1 avocado
1 tsp. white sugar
1 tsp. garlic chili sauce
1 lime, juiced
¼ tsp. salt, or more to taste

Instructions

Crumble the tempeh into small pieces, about the size of a marble. Add 1 tbsp. soy sauce and the smoked paprika to the tempeh and toss, and let sit for a minute. Heat the oil in a large skillet, and add the tempeh with the soy sauce. Cook until the tempeh is crispy, stirring occasional. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Prep the pomelo by removing the rind, and then peeling the white membrane from around the flesh. Let the pomelo shred itself into fairly small pieces (it will probably happen naturally when you’re removing the white membrane), and place in a large bowl. Chop the scallions, and finely chop the cilantro. Remove the stem and seeds from your chilies, and finely mince it along with the ginger and garlic. Remove the avocado from the skin, and chop into cubes about the size as your tempeh. Place all the ingredients including the tempeh in the mixing bowl with the pomelo.
Add the remaining 2 tsp. soy sauce to a jar or small bowl, along with the sugar, garlic chili sauce, lime juice, and salt. Shake or stir well to combine, and pour over the pomelo salad. Toss gently until all the salad is covered in dressing, and serve.