Prawns with nam jim dressing and crunchy salad

Nam Jim is a traditional Thai dressing is hot sour and tangy, try it over rare seared beef with sesame seeds, absolutely stunning.

 

Ingredients

for the tempura batter and prawns

1 egg

1 cup ice water/cold water

1 cup all purpose flour, sifted

half a dozen large king/tiger prawns, shelled but with tail on

for the nam jim

2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons palm sugar
2-3 red shallots or half a small red onion chopped
3-4 bird’s eye chillies (to taste)
2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves or 1 fresh root
Pinch of salt

For the salad

1 carrot

½ small white cabbage

A small handful of sugar snap peas

A small handful of beansprouts

1 sheet of medium egg noodles

2tsp Sesame oil

2tsp Sesame seeds

1tsp honey

2tsp soy sauce

Method

For the nam jim - In a large pestle and mortar, crush the garlic with the salt, add the coriander and chillies and roughly pound. Stir in the sugar, fish sauce, lime juice and finely chopped shallots.

For the salad - Cook the egg noodles as per the packet instructions, its usually simmer for 10 minutes until tender.

Cut the carrots into quarters lengthways then using a sharp knife, a food processor attachment or a mandolin slice the carrot as thinly as possible, so you have long thin slivers of carrot. Do the same with the cabbage.

Toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

For more flavour gently toast your sesame seeds in a dry pan over a medium heat until they are golden. This releases lots more flavour than adding them un toasted.

For the tempura batter Beat an egg in a bowl. Add ice water in the bowl. Be sure to use very cold water. Add sifted flour in the bowl and mix lightly. Be careful not to overmix the batter. Coat the prawns in flour then into batter and fry in vegetable oil until golden.

 

Lemon and blueberry loaf cake

Make this in advance and take thick slices to your picnic or Easter soiree, serve drizzled with honey! Totally delicious!

Ingredients

175g unsalted butter

175g caster sugar

150mls Greek yogurt

50g lemon curd from a good quality jar

3 eggs

zest and juice of 1 lemon

200g self-raising flour

200g punnet of blueberries

 

Method

Cream the butter and the sugar until pale and creamy.
Add the eggs one at a time adding a tsp of your flour after each egg to keep the mixture smooth.
Add the lemon curd and lemon zest and beat gently until incorporated.
Sieve the remaining flour, toss in the blueberries and set aside.
You want to alternate adding the lemon juice, the yogurt and the flour mix, in stages, so start with adding half the flour, then beat gently.
Then add half the yogurt and beat gently again.
Then half the lemon juice and again beat gently.
Repeat this process mixing slowly, you don’t want to work the gluten in the flour so only beat until the ingredient is incorporated.
Grease a 2lb loaf tin.
Fill the tin with the mix and bake in a pre-heated oven (170º) for 1 hour 15 minutes.
Allow the cake to cool slightly in the tin then turn out and finish cooling on a wire rack.
if you want to make a drizzle mix the juice of a lemon with enough icing sugar to make a runny drizzle and flick over the loaf once cool.