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Image Credit: Luke J Albert

Prawn Vermicelli Salad

This exotic salad includes fresh herbs and is perfect for a barbeque. I prepared this for my friends and marinated the prawns in sweet chilli sauce, cooked them on a hot barbeque for 2–3 minutes and then served them with the vermicelli, mango and tomato salad.

I recommend using very thin vermicelli noodles for this salad as they absorb the dressing nicely. Check my recommendation for the best brand of sweet chilli sauce to use on page 12 of my book. My tip is to cook the prawns on a hot barbeque, but alternatively, you can cook them on a griddle pan as described below.

SERVES 4

150g/5½oz vermicelli noodles

8 extra-large raw king prawns, heads and shells on

2 tbsp shop-bought sweet chilli sauce

2 tomatoes, halved and deseeded, cut into thin strips

1 unripe mango, peeled, stoned and sliced into thin strips

1 cucumber, halved, deseeded and cut into thin strips

FOR THE DRESSING

2 tbsp fish sauce

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tbsp palm sugar

juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp rice vinegar

FOR THE GARNISH

10 fresh Thai basil leaves

10 sprigs of fresh coriander, leaves picked

100g/3½oz/scant 1 cup salted peanuts,

lightly crushed

4 tbsp pomegranate seeds

1 lime, cut into 4 wedges, to serve

Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet, drain and set aside. In a large bowl, toss the prawns with the sweet chilli sauce and leave to marinate for 10 minutes. Put all the dressing ingredients into a large bowl, give them a good mix and add the noodles, tomatoes and mango. Toss everything well together and set aside to allow the noodles to absorb the dressing.

Heat a griddle pan over a high heat and cook the prawns in batches for 3–4 minutes until pink and opaque. Transfer to four serving bowls, together with the salad, and top with the garnish ingredients. Serve immediately with a squeeze of lime – one wedge for each bowl.

_{*Extracted from Bowlful: Fresh and vibrant dishes from Southeast Asia by Norman Musa (Pavilion, HarperCollins Publishers). Image by Luke J Albert}