Crisp Jicama and Pineapple Salad

Crisp Jicama and Pineapple Salad

(Rojak)

Malacca, Malaysia

This tantalizing Nyonya fruit and vegetable salad, known as rojak (a word meaning “mixed up”), consists of jicama (widely available in Asian and Latino markets and many supermarkets), unripe mango, fresh pineapple, unripe guava (you can substitute a tart green apple, such as Granny Smith, for the guava), and unripe papaya with a savory-spicy dressing and topped with coarsely ground peanuts. Its origins are humble: Rojak is a classic market snack, meant to be eaten while prowling the aisles in search of the freshest fish or the hottest chiles. Thousands of versions of rojak exist in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. In Indonesia it’s known as rujak and is sometimes bolstered with sliced boiled beef. This recipe was inspired by Bee Bee Ong, a Nyonya who works in one of Malacca’s night markets. Her stall, illuminated by a hissing oil lamp, is packed with customers who line up for their nightly takeaway fix. One key to making good rojak, she taught me, is selecting peak-of-the-season ingredients. Another is a miserly hand with the dressing: Add it gradually, tasting with each addition so you don’t overpower the fruits and vegetables.

Raw, unripe papaya, an optional ingredient in this recipe, has a clean pleasantly bitter taste. It’s the main ingredient in Thailand’s famous som tom (shredded unripe papaya salad with chiles) and is widely available in Asian markets. Before using it, peel it as you would an apple. Then halve it and remove its small, white, pearl-like seeds. The remaining papaya can be cooked as you would chayote squash.

Makes 2 or 3 servings

For the topping:

  • 1/2 cup peeled, unsalted roasted peanuts

For the dressing:

  • 3 teaspoons dried shrimp paste (belacan or trassi)
  • 1 tablespoon tamarind pulp, plus 5 tablespoons very warm water to make tamarind extract
  • 1 to 4 fresh red Holland chiles or other fresh long, red chiles, such as Fresno or cayenne, stemmed and coarsely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons palm sugar, finely chopped, OR dark brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons Indonesian sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)

For the salad:

  • 1 small jicama, peeled (about 10 ounces)
  • 2 small Kirby (or pickling) cucumbers, stemmed (about 7 ounces)
  • 1/3 fresh pineapple, peeled (be sure all the eyes are removed) and cored (canned pineapple doesn’t make a good substitute—it’s too sugary and waterlogged; about 15 ounces, 280 g)
  • 1/2 small unripe mango (also known as green mango), peeled and seeded (about 11 ounces)
  • 1 firm, unripe guava OR 1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled and seeded (and cored, if using an apple; about 4 ounces total, 90 g)
  • 1/4 small unripe papaya (also known as green papaya; optional), peeled and seeded (about 7 ounces, 230 g)
    Salt, if needed

1. Place the peanuts in a small food processor. Pulse until the peanuts are ground to the consistency of coarse bread crumbs. Set aside.

2. To make the dressing, place the shrimp paste in the center of a 5-inch-square (12.5-cm-square) piece of aluminum foil. Fold the edges of the foil over to form a small parcel, and press down with the heel of your hand to flatten the shrimp paste into a 1/4-inch-thick (5-mm-thick) disc. Heat a gas burner to medium-low or an electric burner to medium-high and with a pair of tongs or forks place the sealed parcel directly on the heat source. Toast until the paste begins to smoke and release a burning, shrimpy smell, about 1-1/2 minutes. With the tongs or forks, turn the parcel over and toast the other side for another 1-1/2 minutes, then turn off the burner. Remove the parcel with the tongs or forks and allow it to cool for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Carefully unwrap the foil; the edges of the disc should be black-brown and toasty, while the center should be golden with some black-brown patches. Scrape the toasted shrimp paste from the foil with a spoon into a small bowl and allow it to cool for another 30 seconds. Discard the foil.

3. Place the tamarind pulp in a small nonreactive bowl and combine it with 5 tablespoons of very warm water. Let the tamarind pulp rest until it softens, 10 to 15 minutes. Squeeze and massage the softened tamarind pulp through your fingers, loosening the fruit’s soft auburn-colored pulp from the shiny black seeds, brittle brown skin shards, and sinewy bits of string. With your fingers, remove all the solid pieces from the liquid and discard them; all that will remain is a thick caramel-colored extract. Set the tamarind extract aside.

4. Place the toasted shrimp paste, tamarind extract, chiles, palm sugar, and sweet soy sauce in a small food processor. Pulse until you have a smooth dressing; the chiles should be fairly finely ground, but they need not be chopped to smithereens.
5. Cut the jicama into irregular matchstick pieces about 3 inches long by 1/2 inch thick (8 cm by 1 cm; you should have about 1-1/2 cups).

6. Cut the cucumbers into irregular pieces about 2 inches long by 1/2 inch thick (5 cm by 1 cm; you should have about 2 cups).

7. Cut the pineapple into pieces 2 inches long by 1/2 inch thick (5 cm by 1 cm; you should have about 2 cups).

8. Cut the unripe mango into irregular matchstick pieces about 3 inches long by 1/2 inch thick (8 cm by 1 cm; you should have about 1 cup).

9. Cut the unripe guava or the apple into 8 wedges (you should have about 1 cup).

10. Cut the unripe papaya (if using) into irregular matchstick pieces about 3 inches long by 1/2 inch thick (8 cm by 1 cm; you should have about 1 cup).

11. Place the fruit in a large bowl. Pour 3/4 of the dressing over the fruit and toss well with your hands or a large spoon to make sure each piece is evenly coated. Taste a piece of fruit—the fruit’s taste should be enhanced by the dressing, not overwhelmed by it. Add the rest of the dressing, if needed. Taste once again for salt, adding a pinch if needed.

12. Transfer the dressed salad to a serving dish. Evenly sprinkle the ground peanuts over the top. Eat immediately; this salad becomes unappetizingly limp if allowed to sit longer than 20 minutes.