Quick easy recipes which deliver flavour in spades are always a hit. This Thai inspired prawn salad (by Michelle Scamps) combines all these elements and more, we have even made it while camping out west.
The Salad
1kg green prawns (to feed 5).
Oil of your choice (olive, vegetable, peanut, grape).
1 packet of dry rice vermicelli.
Stalk of lemongrass (or use premixed paste and only use the white part of the stalk).
½ red capsicum.
½ peeled Spanish (ie red) onion.
Coriander leaves with stems removed.
The Dressing
100ml coconut milk.
60ml lemon juice.
35ml of bottled sweet red chilli sauce.
25ml fish sauce.
½ red chilli (optional).
Putting It All Together
1. Shell and devein prawns (if you like, season with salt and pepper) and fry in oil. Set aside to cool.
2. Place dried vermicelli noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water until soft (should take a couple of minutes) then drain and set aside to cool.
3. Mix all the dressing ingredients in a container with a lid and shake.
4. Place the cooled and cooked vermicelli noodles into a large bowl and mix in together with all the salad items. Pour over most of the dressing.
5. Mix the cooked prawns with the small amount of saved dressing.
6. Take the salad/noodle mix from the mixing bowl and place on a serving platter. Arrange the prawns on top of the salad and then garnish with coriander.
Tips
1. Cut the cooked noodles into shorter lengths.
2. Give your arteries a break and use light coconut milk to reduce fat.
3. It is pretty easy to make your own sweet red chilli sauce. Just combine 12 big chillies (larger chillies tend to be not as hot and also create more sauce), 2 cups of vinegar, 1 ½ cups of sugar, 5 gloves of garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt into a blender. Take the raw sauce out of the blender and then place into a frying pan and bring to the boil for say 5 minutes. Then simmer for 20 odd minutes, it is ready when it thickens and is good to taste. Hey presto chilli sauce.
