Day 14 of our carbless diet - I served up yet another Thai classic, this time a beautiful salad with airy crispy fish cakes and crisp tart green mango. Traditionally cat fish is used but I substituted that with cod and it worked equally well. This is a very simple and refreshing salad that sums up what a good Thai salad is really about; it's extremely refreshing, the different flavours and textures from all the ingredients will sure to blow your mind away.
P.S For the first time we were both wishing steamed rice was served alongside this wonderful dish.
serve 4 as part of a Thai meal
you'll need;
500 g of cat fish or cod fillets
2 green mangoes
2 long red chillies, julienned
2 lemongrass (white part only) finely sliced
half a cup of mint leaves
2 shallots, finely sliced
3 tbs of chopped roasted cashew nuts
peanut oil for frying
for the dressing;
3 to 5 bird chillies, chopped
2 tsp of sugar
2 tbs of fish sauce
juice from half a lime
Peel mangoes and remove seeds, then cut into neat julienne.
Slice chillies and lemongrass.
To prepare the dressing - pound chillies, salt and sugar into a paste before adding the lime juice and fish sauce. Check for seasonings and adjust to your taste.
To prepare the crispy fish - wash and dry fish fillets throughly; season fish generously with salt before baking in the hot oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Cool then flake fish into little pieces, place in a food processor and blend til fish flakes resemble breadcrumbs.
Heat enough oil and fry fish crumbs in batches, pull the crumbs toward you and they will form a net. Turn the fish net over using a fish slice and fry til golden and crispy.
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and pour the dressing over. Mix well and check for seasonings.
Divide mango salad and place pieces of crispy fish over. Aroy maak maak!
