‘Fruit nerd’ Thanh Truong’s colourful go-to grilled peach salad will get your guests talking

Second-generation fruiterer Thanh Truong has amassed a sizeable social media following under the moniker “The Fruit Nerd”, an apt reflection of his wealth of knowledge about all things fruit and veg. Here, he shares two essential summery salads from his new cookbook Don’t Buy Fruit & Veg Without Me!

Summery grilled peach salad

I’ve made this salad a few times to bring to parties. The grilled peaches really elevate the dish, and you’ll find that everyone tries to sneak a few extra onto their plate because they taste so bloody good – I suggest grilling more than you need! I like to prep the ingredients at home, then simply toss everything together when I arrive or just before serving. Alternatively, this salad makes the perfect light lunch, dinner or side dish at home. I love this salad, as the ingredients work so well in harmony: the sweetness of the peaches pairs well with the tanginess of the balsamic vinegar, the creaminess of the avocado, the bitterness of the salad leaves and the textural crunch of the pine nuts. I prefer to use rocket for its bitter, peppery leaves, but any salad mix works well. You can also substitute nectarines for the peaches. My fruit nerd tip is to use a mixture of white and yellow peaches – it adds a dynamism to the dish that will have people saying ‘Have you tried the salad?!’.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 firm peaches (preferably 4 white and 4 yellow), halved and stones removed
• olive oil, for drizzling
• sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
• 100ml balsamic vinegar
• 2½ tbsp honey
• 450g salad leaves (preferably rocket)
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 100g pine nuts or raw cashew nuts

METHOD

1. Preheat a barbecue grill to high or heat a chargrill pan
   over high heat.
2. Place the peach halves in a large bowl, drizzle over the
   olive oil and massage it into the fruit. Season with salt
   and pepper.
3. Grill the peach halves, cut-side down, for two-three minutes,
   until grill marks char the flesh and the peach has a smoky
   aroma. Remove from the grill and set aside to cool, then
   cut the peach halves into thin wedges.
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic
   vinegar and honey to make a dressing.
5. In a large salad bowl, toss together the salad leaves and
   dressing, add the avocado, pine nuts or cashews and
   peach, and gently toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Serves 8

Vietnamese green mango salad (Goi xoai)

The best Vietnamese green mango salad I’ve ever eaten was at My Viet Trinh’s farm. His wife not only served us this classic Vietnamese dish, but she did so farm-style. What I mean by that is she used a combination of mangoes to create different textures: nam doc mai, the classic Thai mango, which is less fibrous and has a smooth flesh and intense sour notes; and xoai tuong (elephant mango), a large and very firm Vietnamese variety, which is super crunchy and has a relatively neutral flavour. I’ve always been a big advocate of using different varietals of the same fruit in one dish, and this recipe was exemplary of that – it allowed the mangoes to shine without the need for a protein, although if you do want to bulk it out a little you could add a few peeled and deveined boiled prawns. This is my version of the dish using my mum’s nuoc cham as a dressing, but remember that you can always leave out the chillies if you don’t love spice.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 green mangoes (including both a Vietnamese and Thai variety if possible), peeled and julienned
• 100g finely sliced Asian shallot
• 1 small Lebanese cucumber, julienned
• 1 loosely packed cup mint leaves
• 1 loosely packed cup Vietnamese mint leaves
• 1 quantity nuoc cham (see below)
• 50g (⅔ cup) fried shallots
• 50g salted peanuts

INGREDIENTS

1. Combine the mango, shallot, cucumber, mint and Vietnamese mint in a serving bowl.
2. Pour the nuoc cham over the salad and toss to combine.
3. Allow the salad to stand for at least 5 minutes, for the
   flavours to meld.
4. Scatter the fried shallots and salted peanuts over the top
   of the salad and serve.

Serves 6

Mum’s nuoc cham

Every Vietnamese household has their own version of nuoc cham (dipping sauce), which is colloquially called nuoc mam (fish sauce). Nearly all families use bullet chillies, as they’re sweet and not too spicy, although red cassette chillies are also used by those who prefer more heat, as they have about double the quantity of capsaicin on the Scoville scale. Mum’s secret is to deseed the chillies to make the sauce less spicy. She also adds a little grated carrot for sweetness.
If you’re making a large batch of nuoc cham to keep in the fridge, omit the grated carrot until serving; otherwise, you’ll end up with soggy carrot in your dip, which is not exactly a desirable texture. If fresh bullet or cassette chillies aren’t available in your area, you can always purchase them frozen from Asian grocery stores. Substituting a different varietal of chilli will change the flavour of this nuoc cham because the bullet chillies add a distinctly sweet taste, which is synonymous with the sauce. The biggest unknown is the fish sauce – some are saltier than others, so depending on the brand, you may need to scale back or add more. If you’re not familiar with the salt intensity of your fish sauce, add it slowly at the end and taste as you go; if you need more, then continue to add. Remember, you can’t take it out once you’ve added it!

INGREDIENTS

• 30g brown sugar
• 1½ tbsp hot water
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 red bullet chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1½ tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tsp freshly squeezed
• lime juice
• ¼ carrot, grated

METHOD

1. Combine the brown sugar and hot water in a bowl and
   stir quickly to dissolve. Add the garlic, chilli, fish sauce
   and lime juice and mix well. Add half the grated carrot
   and stir – it will bleed its sweet juices into the sauce,
   completely changing the flavour. Taste the nuoc cham –
   it should taste sweet, spicy, salty and sour. Divide the
   nuoc cham among dipping bowls, adding the remaining
   carrot when ready to serve.
2. Leftover nuoc cham will keep in a jar in the fridge for up
   to three days.

Makes about 80ml (⅓ cup)

This is an edited extract from Don’t Buy Fruit & Veg Without Me! by ThanhTruong, published by Plum, RRP $39.99. Photography by Mark Roper. Buy now