Prawn and vermicelli salad with coconut cream, kaffir lime and betel leaves
<p>This Thai dish eats beautifully as a stand-alone salad or component of a feast, or you can wrap the salad in the betel leaves (you'll just need a few extra) and eat as hand-held morsels - perfect for entertaining, and the recipe can be easily multiplied to fit your needs.</p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Serves:</span></strong> 6</p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ingredients:</span></strong></p>
<ul>
<li>100g mung bean vermicelli noodles</li>
<li>50ml coconut cream</li>
<li>fish sauce, to taste</li>
<li>12 green king prawn cutlets, butterflied and blanched in boiling salted water for 90 seconds</li>
<li>6 betel leaves</li>
<li>4 kaffir lime leaves, very finely julienned</li>
<li>1 tbsp. fried shallots, ground to a powder</li>
</ul>
<p><em>Salad</em></p>
<ul>
<li>½ bunch coriander, picked and roughly chopped (reserve 2 roots for the dressing)</li>
<li>2 red eschalots, finely sliced</li>
<li>2 spring onions, finely sliced</li>
<li>2 long red chillies, finely julienned</li>
<li>2 limes, peeled and segmented</li>
<li>1 lemongrass stem, white part only, very finely sliced</li>
<li>50g toasted peanuts, crushed</li>
<li>3 bird's eye chillies, chopped</li>
<li>2 coriander roots, thoroughly cleaned and chopped</li>
<li>1 garlic clove</li>
<li>½ tbsp. dried shrimp, chopped</li>
<li>50g palm sugar, grated (pick a pale Thai sugar)</li>
<li>3 tbsp. fish sauce</li>
<li>2 tbsp. lime juice</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Method:</span></strong></p>
<ol>
<li>For the dressing, grind the chilli, coriander root, garlic, shrimp and palm sugar as finely as possible using a mortar and pestle, then mix in the fish sauce and lime juice until combined. Adjust the balance with more fish, sauce or sugar if necessary.</li>
<li>Place the noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for four minutes, then drain and cut into short lengths.</li>
<li>Dress the noodles with the coconut cream and season to taste with a splash of fish sauce.</li>
<li>For the salad, combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the prawns and dressing and toss gently but thoroughly.</li>
<li>Arrange the betel leaves on a serving platter, followed by the noodles and prawn salad mix. Scatter over the shredded lime leaves and shallot powder and serve.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Tips:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Seek out a quality fish sauce, they're not that expensive and the difference is amazing.</li>
<li>Cooked crabmeat would work well instead of prawns.</li>
<li>If you can't find betel leaves (generally available from Asian grocers) and want to serve individual portions, lettuce cups would be a good substitute.</li>
</ol>
<p>Tell us in the comments below, how do you like your prawns? In a salad? Or a soup? Or something else entirely?</p>
<p><em>First appeared on <a href="http://Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>.</em></p>
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<p><strong>Related links:</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/food-wine/2016/04/pork-and-prawn-dumpling-soup/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Pork and prawn dumpling soup</strong></em></span></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/food-wine/2016/03/prawn-and-tofu-stir-fry/"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Prawn and tofu stir-fry</strong></span></em></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/food-wine/2016/03/bbq-prawns-with-macadamia-dukkah-and-mint-lemon-yoghurt/"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>BBQ prawns with macadamia dukkah and mint lemon yoghurt</strong></span></em></a></p>
