Spicy wing bean salad with prawns by Samantha Loo

Spicy wing bean salad with prawns by Samantha Loo
 

This salad is a Thai salad that I have adapted from this book "Thai Spicy Salad". I am not sure if this book is available locally as this was bought for me by my girlfriend in Thailand.

Spicy Wing Bean Salad with Prawns (Yum tua phu kang sot)
(serves 2)

Ingredients :

2 cups wing bean, coarsely sliced
9 prawns (30-35 g each), shell, vein & heads removed but keep tails intact
1/2 cup shallot, sliced
1 tbsp hot chillies, sliced (chilli padi)
1/4 cup dried shrimps, coarsely pounded
1/4 cup grated coconut (I use dessicated coconut), roasted until lightly yellow
1/4 cup peanuts, roasted and coarsely ground
Green salad for lining
Cooked coconut cream for topping
Fried sliced shallots and fried dried hot chillies for sprinkle (I omitted the dried hot chillies)
Mint sprig for garnish
Boiled egg for condiment (optional)

Roasted chilli dressing

3 tbsp roasted chilli paste *
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp + 1 tsp palm sugar
3 tbsp cooked coconut cream (I used Kara)

* Roasted chilli paste

Roast 15 large sized dried red chillies, 8 bulbs of shallot, 3 bulbs of garlic and 1/2 tbsp of shrimp paste until they are cooked and fragrant. Pound / grind finely. Stir the chilli mixture in 1/2 cup of oil over low heat until it is fragrant. Season with 4 tbsp of fish sauce, 2 tsp of sea salt, 1/4 cup of palm sugar and 1/2 cup of tamarind juice. Stir until the liquid is reduced. The paste should be sour, sweet, hot and salty. Allow to cool and then transfer to a jar. Store in fridge. It can be kept for a week.

** My note : To make my life easier, I simply buy the ready mix sauce. So far I have used Prima Nonya Sambal Sweet and Spicy Chilli Sauce, and its a good substitute. One packet (80g) is just nice to make the dressing in this recipe.

Preparation

1. Blanch the wing bean in boiling water over high heat for 5 seconds. Soak in icy water and drain Blanch the prawns in the same pot until they are just done. Soak in icy water and drain as well.

2. To prepare dressing :
In a mixing bowl, combine roasted chilli paste, lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar together. Stir to mix well. Add coconut cream and stir.

3. Transfer the wing bean and prawns to a mixing bowl. Add shallot, hot chilli and half portion of the dressing. Toss lightly and add dried shrimp, grated coconut and peanuts. Toss to combine. Taste and adjust to get the balance of sour, sweet and salty creamy taste. transfer onto a bed of green salad, top with cooked coconut cream, fried shallot and dried hot chillies. Garnish with mint sprig. Serve with boiled egg.

( Salad can be served chill too, depending on your preference.)