For the mayo:
- into a stand mixer bowl, put the following: one egg, a generous tablespoon of XO sauce, a small slosh of soy sauce and lime juice, a couple of teaspoons of sugar, about half a tbsp of sesame oil, and some chilli oil or sriracha if you like.
- using the whisk attachment, whisk on high power. When the ingredients are well combined (shouldn’t take more than 10 seconds) drizzle in about a cup or so of neutral oil (e.g. canola). The mix should come to a slightly stiff mayo consistency quite quickly (within a minute or so).
- turn the whisk off, and stir in a bunch of coriander chopped (save the roots for something else!), a knob of finely chopped fresh ginger, sesame seeds and a handful of peanuts (optional, but desirable). Taste for balance – it should be sweet and salty, with a subtle acidity. Add more soy or lime juice to correct.
To assemble:
- cut the skin off the outside of the celeriac, leaving the white flesh (give this a wash if you’ve managed to get any of the dirt from the skin onto the flesh.
- cut the flesh into a not too fine julienne – if you can’t be bothered by all means use a suitable gadget for this!
- stir into the mayo as you cut it (don’t leave it sitting around or it will oxidise and brown).
- Chop a couple of apples (no need to peel) and again, add it to the mayo immediately to avoid browning.
- Combine well to finish.
I also added some pickled baby leeks from the Asian grocer which were a nice touch – chopped spring onion would achieve the same sort of result. Pictured with kim chi and beef ribs braised in Yakinikuno sauce (a Japanese sauce used for teppanyaki, with a sweet and umami flavour backed up with a strong sesame hit), both of which went rather nicely with the salad!