Rose’s Luxury Inspired Lychee Salad
Rose’s Luxury Inspired Lychee Salad, a make-at-home version of Rose’s Luxury’s famous dish that combines sweet lychees with spicy pork sausage, peanuts, red onions, herbs and a creamy coconut whip dressing.
After our second visit to Rose’s Luxury in January, I knew I had to try to recreate a version of their Lychee Salad. It’s their signature dish and the only thing that was still on the menu from the first time we dined a year before. They are constantly rotating dishes and adding new offerings, but the Lychee Salad remains. It was the first recipe Chef Aaron Silverman created for the restaurant before it’s opening in 2013.
When you talk with people about Rose’s Luxury the Lychee Salad always comes up. The conversation usually goes like this…
“Rose’s is one of my favorite restaurants, I love the laid back, but sophisticated vibe of the dining atmosphere and menu offerings. Oh and THAT lychee salad”
The lychee salad has been written up by many well known publications like Zagat, Serious Eats and DCist.
The Key Elements of Rose’s Lychee Salad:
There are 5 main elements of the salad:
Sweet Lychees – obviously these must be included, without them it would not be a “lychee” salad. It is unique to find lychees in a savory dish, especially in whole form, but here they are queen and all other elements support them.
Spicy Pork – the main counterbalance to the lychees is the spicy pork. Cooked with habanero pepper for spice. You can control the heat level by how many seeds of the habanero you choose to add – add none, the pork with be mild; add all and it will have a pretty spicy kick. Rose’s Lychee Salad is spicy, to match their level use the seeds.
Roasted, Salted Peanuts – indispensable to the dish because they add that crunch that is so necessary for the overall texture. They also bring in a salty element. So now we have sweet, spicy and salty which is pretty much gold when it comes to flavor.
Thinly Sliced Red Onion – not to be forgotten, the red onions are key to defining this dish. The fact that they are raw makes them bold and speaks to all the elements of this dish – everything could stand on it’s own, nothing gets lost.
Coconut Whip – by far the hardest element to match in recreation. Without some tools, that you are not likely to have at home (like an aerosol whipped cream dispenser), it is hard to achieve the texture of their coconut whip. The coconut whip in this recipe is going to be denser, but it plays the same role. It is the component that ties everything together when you mix it up prior to diving in.
Outside of these elements, I used my own creative freedom to define the rest of the dish. The spices and herbs I use as well as the size of the dish are not completely aligned with Rose’s. But if you are like me and crave the lychee salad often, it will satisfy your craving and be a favorite in your dinner rotation. Or, if you haven’t been to Rose’s, I encourage you to try it out! It will take you on a flavor adventure.
How to eat Rose’s Luxury Inspired Lychee Salad:
How to eat it is almost as important to the dish as the ingredients and techniques use to make it. It is served styled with all the components holding their own place in the bowl. But for it to be properly enjoyed, you must thoroughly mix everything together. Mixing makes the magic happen! All the flavors and textures must be combined in order for the dish to shine.
I hope you have fun with this one! Tag me @sprinklesandseasalt when you make it 🙂
Rose’s Luxury Inspired Lychee Salad
Description
Rose’s Luxury Inspired Lychee Salad, a make-at-home version of Rose’s Luxury’s infamous dish that combines sweet lychees with spicy pork sausage, peanuts, red onions, herbs and a creamy coconut whip dressing.
Ingredients
Pork
1 pound ground pork sausage*
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 cloves garlic, crushed
juice of 1 lime (about 1 tbsp)
1 habanero pepper**, chopped
1 tbsp roasted, salted peanuts, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lychee syrup
Coconut Whipped Dressing
1/2 cup coconut cream***
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp salt
Salad
pork
1/4 cup roasted, salted peanuts
1/2 cup red onion, sliced thin
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 stalks green onion, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
1 20oz can lychee in syrup
coconut whipped dressing
mint, for optional garnish
Instructions
Add the ground pork sausage to a medium sized bowl, add the salt, cumin, coriander, garlic, lime juice and habanero, mix with a spoon or your clean hands until fully combined
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat
Add pork mixture
Working with a wooden spoon break pork apart into tiny pieces as it browns and cooks through, about 5-7 minutes
Remove from heat and transfer to a clean bowl
Open can of lychee and drain the syrup, reserving 1 tbsp
Mix in the lychee syrup, set aside
Coconut Whip
Add coconut cream to the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment
Whip on high for 1-2 minutes
Reduce to medium speed and slowly add heavy whipping cream and salt
Once all whipping cream is incorporated turn mixer back up to high, whip 1-2 more minutes until mixture is fluffy and holds a peak
Stop mixer, set aside
Salad
Divide pork into 4 bowls
Add a quarter of the peanuts, red onion slices, cilantro, green onion and mint to each bowl
Divide the lychee between the 4 bowls (4-5 lychee per bowl)
Top each top with a heavy dollop of the coconut whip
Garnish with mint leaves, if desired
Serve the bowls like this
Just before eating, mix everything together, enjoy!
Notes
*make sure it is plain and a high quality
**depending on your spice tolerance you can choose to add none (mild spice), some (moderate spice) or all (spicy) of the seeds
***use the solid part of the coconut cream
Keywords: #rosesluxury, #copycatrecipes, #porklycheesalad
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