Recipe No 134 salad

Prawn, cucumber, mint and chilli salad

This salad is so enjoyable it can be a first course on its own. The salty prawns with sour lime and cool mint is a winning combination. We serve these in lettuce cups which can be wrapped up and eaten like a fresh spring roll.

As a picnic food the individual components can be packed into air-tight containers and then mixed in the park. One of our favourite ways to enjoy this salad.

Recipe: Prawn, cucumber, mint and chilli salad.
Time

Prep:

Total:

Difficulty
very easy
Yield
4–6 serves • 900 g
Metric Imperial

Processes

  • Lime juice, freshly squeezed
    40 g
  • Peanut oil
    20 g
  • Fish sauce
    20 g
  • Palm sugar (1½ tsp)
    7 g
  1. 01
    Combine in a bowl.
  2. 02
    Stir to dissolve the sugar.

  • Cucumber, lebanese, peeled, halved lengthways, deseeded and chopped into thin slices (2 small)
    316 g
  • Prawns, cooked
    400 g
  • Scallions, finely sliced diagonally (6 small)
    30 g
  • Fresh mint leaves, julienned (5)
    29 g
  • Birdseye chillis, deseeded and finely minced (2 chillis)
    10 g
  1. 03
    Combine in a bowl.
  2. 04
    Mix gently.
  3. 05
    Add lime juice mixture and toss gently to coat.
  4. 06
    Transfer to a strainer but keep the strained juices.

  • Lettuce cups (4 cups)
    32 g
  1. 07
    Fill with an equal amount of prawn mixture .
  2. 08
    Serve strained juices in a dipping bowl.

Notes

We use so-called ‘Lebanese’ cucumbers in this dish. If you are using large prawns, they are best chopped into smaller pieces about the same size as the cucumber pieces. The finer the julienne on those mint leaves, the better. It helps to distribute the fresh flavour; though a few of the smaller leaves left whole add visual interest and little morsels of fresh flavour.

Making ahead

Prepare the lime juice dressing up to step 04. Peel and devein the prawns.

Storing

does not keep well; serve fresh

Finished recipe

  • Recipe: Prawn, cucumber, mint and chilli salad
    Lettuce cups filled with prawn, cucumber, mint and chilli salad.

Categorisation

Category
salad
Meal
entrée lunch starter
Cuisine
south-east asian
Diet
pescatarian
Tags
prawn shrimp