Thai Southern Rocklobster Salad with Tomato and Herbs

Serves 1

For the sauce - serves 5 (keeps indefinitely refrigerated)

100g Billinton's unrefined dark Muscovado cane sugar or dark palm sugar finely chopped
150g white rice wine vinegar
10g minced ginger/garlic
10g inner lemon grass very finely chopped

For the salad - serves 1

50g Cooked Southern Rocklobster leg and knuckle meat
1 large red mild chilli seeded, de-veined, finely julienned, curled in ice water and well drained
1 large green chilli seeded, de-veined, finely julienned, curled in ice water and well drained
10 coriander/cilantro leaves with stems
10 laksa mint leaves (rau ram)
10 mint leaves
6 celery leaves
2 ripe cherry tomatoes cored and quartered
2 Kaffir lime leaves very finely julienned
5g crispy shallot - see TIP below
2g crisp fried julienne leek top
1/2 a medium lime

For the sauce

Bring the sugar and rice wine vinegar to the boil, remove from the heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients and stir through.
Ensure that the coriander/cilantro is very well washed. Put everything except half of the shallot and all of the leek and lime into a bowl and very gently combine. Pile onto the plate and segment the lime over the top before garnishing with the remaining shallot and leek. Carefully spoon 30ml of the sauce around the edges and serve.

Variation - chilli hot
Additional ingredients

30ml fresh lime juice
20ml chilli and lime dipping sauce
70g green papaya finely julienned
1 Thai chilli finely chopped without deseeding
1 small green chilli finely chopped without deseeding

Mix the lime juice and chilli and lime dipping sauce together. Reserving the same garnishes toss everything together with the mixed lime juice. Plate and finish as preciously described.

Tip

Crispy shallots are best made by deep frying low and slow at around 150ºC to achieve a uniform golden colour and total crispness.

Hydroponic herbs and leaves - in our kitchen we never use hydroponic herbs, salad leaves or vegetables. For us it is a matter of maximum taste and we follow the policy if we cannot buy something soil grown and in season we do not use it.