Servings: 4 · Prep Time: 15 mins · Cooking Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 20 mins

Salads & Starters

A fresh and lively citrus Thai salad. OK, first things first. If you can find a pomelo in your supermarket, then this becomes, as it should a - Thai Pomelo salad dish (yum som - O). If you can't find a pomelo, then a pink grapefruit is a great substitute and tastes really similar. One of the reasons I love Thai food so much, is it is possible the cuisine with the greatest array of dynamic contrast. It effortlessly cycles from hot, to sour and from salty to sweet. And if any one single dish demonstrates this delight so effortlessly, it is this one.

Ingredients

Salad

  • Tuna (3 steaks)
  • Red Grapefruit
  • Shallots
  • Chilli
  • Cashew Nuts (60g)
  • Red Peppers
  • Salad (3 cups)
  • Coconut Flakes (handful)

Thai Chilli Dressing

  • Fish Sauce (4 tbsp)
  • Lime Juice (4 tbsp)
  • Sweet Chilli Sauce (4 tbsp)
  • Kaffir Leaves

Method

First make the sauce by finely chopping the kaffir leaves, adding all of the ingredients together and stirring. Then separate in to two bowls.

Chop the tuna steaks into about one inch cubes and then put them into ne of the bowls and smother them in the sauce. Then put them is a plastic bag inside of the fridge to marinade. One hours does the job, but if you can leave for longer, even better still.

Then remove the tuna and with coconut oil fry it in a saucepan. Don't over do it, try and keep the tuna pink in the middle.

To create the salad, finely chop a red chilli and some ginger and slice two red peppers and two shallots. I then add the nuts and toss all of the ingredients in the remaining dressing and then layer it on a bed of greens (usually spinach).

You can buy coconut flakes in most supermarkets, but it's even better if you make your own (see our recipe under snacks).