Thursday, June 3, 2010

Shrimp Salad Thai Style

I had this for lunch today. It's also known as 'umai udang' to Sarawakians, in which the fish sauce is replaced with salt.

Bought the ingredients at Carrefour nearby during lunch hour and prepared everything at the office pantry.  Took me about 30 minutes of preparation and 1 hour to cure in the fridge(the lime juice cooks the prawns).

Ingredients for 1 serving
  • Lemongrass, 1cm, finely chopped
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped; use less to avoid bad breath
  • 10 Fresh prawns, peeled and deveined, cut into half, lengthwise
  • 2 'Limau nipis' and 5 'Limau kasturi' juice
  • Coriander leaves, coarsely chopped
  • 2 medium sized Tomatoes, cut into small cubes

  • Fish sauce, several dashes. Replace with salt if too fishy for your preference
  • 2-4 Thai green chilies, finely chopped; use less if you can't take the heat.
  • Several teaspoons of sugar or brown sugar, to be added just before serving

Prepare the list above in sequence and mix them in one bowl. The fish sauce and/or salt and chilies are to be added last and sparingly, according to your preference.  Add sugar just before serving so that it doesn't interfere with the lime juice curing process. Allow the prawn meat to cure for one hour.  The prawns are cut into half lengthwise so they cure/cook faster in the lime juice.  Better still, cut them into bite sizes.

Also great with rice.  Enjoy.

Note: You'll smell fishy after meal.