Garlic Prawns + Iceburg comeback
October 4, 2005 dressings, mains, seafood
This dish is really the celebration of the return of one of my favorite dinner guests – Sam! He is a delight to cook for because he totally appreciates good food and Sam! I don’t do it often enough. When uni is over, I am going to get back into meals that take half a day of your life to prepare and I can hardly wait.
This is a fast and fresh meal. It also marks the beginning of my campaign to bring back the iceberg lettuce out of trailer park prejudice and back to the gourmet meal.
Now! The iceberg is crisper and more watery than another lettuce. It works fantastically well with Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, so much so – I couldn’t imagine using any other lettuce.
Salad One: Thaislaw
Serves: Two
Preperation: 15min
Cook: zip
Ingredients:
A few iceberg lettuce leaves shredded
Two grated carrots
Roughly chopped mint
For the dressing:
Juice of two limes
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of sugar
½ teaspoon of sesame oil
A clove of garlic chopped
Fresh chili, seeds removed and chopped finely
A 2cm knob of ginger finely chopped
This salad dressing suits any thai salad and the variety is endless. Here I have composed a very simple shredded salad making the Iceburg the star of the show.
1. Combine the lettuce, carrots and mint into a serving bowl.
2. In a separate bowl mix together the dressing and mix well. In a few minutes, once the flavours have settled give it a bit of a taste. The idea here is that you can still taste the limes quite strongly, with a nutty edge. Be careful that the sesame doesn’t over power the fresh flavours.
Salad Two: Cucumber Salad
Serves: Four
Preperation: 15 min
Cook: zip
Ingredients:
3 Lebanese Cucumbers
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons soy sauce
6 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons scallions — finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger root — finely chopped
1. Peel the cucumbers and chop them by cutting firstly, horizontally through them, and then in 2cm chunks.
2. Mix remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and pour over the cucumber just before serving.
Meat of it: Garlic Prawns
Cook quickly on a high heat with plenty of oil and a couple of cloves of garlic, depending on how much you have. For two, I brought half a kilo of shelled prawns and used three cloves of garlic.