Watercress & Cucumber Salad

Name: Watercress & Cucumber Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 2–4 servings
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: ¼ bunch watercress (about 1 cup sprigs); 1 small Lebanese cucumber; 1 small red onion; 1 tablespoon Sweet Fish Sauce (20ml)

This easy watercress and cucumber salad is inspired by Mark Jensen, chef of Red Lantern Vietnamese restaurant for 25 years. Vietnamese serve salad with almost every meal, sometimes tossed together like this one, sometimes just a platter of fresh leaves and herbs. Sweet fish sauce (nuoc mam cham; see video below) is always served either drizzled over the top if it’s a tossed salad, or alongside if it’s a plate of greens. If the salad is tossed, the dressing isn’t tossed with the ingredients but drizzled over the top just before it’s served. Mark explains that this is because the Vietnamese don’t want the acid in the dressing to wilt the delicate herbs too much. This Vietnamese watercress and cucumber salad is a great accompaniment to anything deep-fried, such as five-spice fish.

Serves 2–4 as a side dish

Ingredients

¼ bunch watercress (about 1 cup sprigs)
1 small Lebanese cucumber
1 small red onion
1 tablespoon Sweet Fish Sauce (20ml)

Method

Pick watercress sprigs, wash and dry well. Place in a mixing bowl.
Cut cucumber into quarters lengthways. Cut out and discard seeds, slice the rest and add to bowl.
Cut onion into fine slivers, add to bowl and toss to combine well.
Arrange on a serving plate and set aside until ready to serve.
Drizzle Sweet Fish Sauce over the salad and serve.