Avocado, which you start wanting once the weather turns hot, is wrapped in pork and deep-fried. What goes into the coating is Dish Symphony No.3, built on five-spice powder (wǔxiāngfěn).
The sweet aroma of cassia rises in the heat of the oil, and a cool trace of peppermint slips through behind it. The first piece straight out of the fryer is the most fragrant.
Swap in FlareLine “CITRUS EMBER”, with its citrus and habanero, and the dish leans towards nam pla and coriander. Either is good — take your pick.
The mayonnaise and nam pla sauce stays as it is. The seasoning is salt-free, so there is no need to change the salt level.
Ingredients (serves 2)
- Avocado 1
- Pork shoulder loin (shabu-shabu cut) 8 slices
- Dish Symphony No.3, or FlareLine “CITRUS EMBER” 1 tsp
- Plain flour 2 tbsp
- Potato starch (katakuriko) 2 tbsp
- Oil for deep-frying, as needed
- Coriander and lemon, to taste
- A: Mayonnaise 2 tsp
- A: Nam pla (fish sauce) 2 tsp
- A: Beet sugar 1 tsp
- A: Garlic (grated) 1/2 tsp
Instructions
- Cut the avocado in half lengthways, remove the stone, cut it into 8 wedges and peel them. Sprinkle a little salt (not in the list above) on both sides of the pork.
- Make the sauce. Put the A ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
- Wrap the avocado in the pork and coat it evenly all over with the sauce.
- Add the spice to the potato starch and mix it in with your fingers until it is evenly distributed.
- Coat the pieces from step 3 first in the plain flour, then in the potato starch from step 4, and deep-fry in oil at 180°C. Fry until golden brown, then drain.
- Arrange on a plate and add coriander and lemon if you like.
One thing to watch
The aroma is sealed into the coating. If you mix the spice straight into the sauce, the aroma escapes into the oil while it fries. Mixing it into the potato starch first is what makes or breaks this recipe.
Choose a firm, yellow-green avocado. An over-ripe one will fall apart as it fries.