Pomelo and lemongrass salad
Fresh pomelo, thinly sliced lemongrass, Thai basil, mint, cilantro and chunks of crispy fried fish are tossed with a dressing made with palm sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, cilantro stems and chilies.
Servings 2 people
Ingredients
Fish
- 300 grams tilapia (10.5 oz)
- salt
- pepper
- cooking oil
Dressing
- 2 teaspoons palm sugar
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 1 bird's eye chili thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon thinly sliced cilantro stems
Pomelo and herbs
- 1 to 2 stalks lemongrass
- 3 segments pomelo peeled
- 1 pair kaffir lime leaves
- 1 handful Thai basil leaves
- 1 handful mint leaves
- 1 handful cilantro leaves
Instructions
Cook the fish
- Score the fish (skip this if using fillets) and rub both sides generously with salt and pepper.
- Heat enough cooking oil in a frying pan to reach a depth of three inches.
- Deep fry the fish until the surface is a deep golden brown and crisp.
- Scoop out the fish, rest on rack and leave to cool.
Make the dressing
- Measure the palm sugar into a bowl and press with the back of a spoon to loosen.
- Pour in the fish sauce and lime juice, and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
- Stir in the chili and cilantro stems.
- Leave to infuse.
Complete the salad
- Peel and discard the outer layers of the lemongrass until you reach the soft interior. Slice as thinly as you can.
- Break the pomelo pulp into bite-size pieces.
- Pull off the midrib of the kaffir lime leaves and discard. Slice the leaves as thinly as you can manage.
- Take the cooled fish, separate from the bones (skip if using fillets) and break up the flesh into bite-size pieces.
- Place the fish, pomelo, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, Thai basil, mint and cilantro in a mixing bowl and toss gently to distribute the ingredients evenly.
- Drizzle in a tablespoon of the dressing and toss again.
- Transfer the salad into a shallow bowl (or two bowls) and serve the remaining dressing on the side.