Green mango salad with crispy fried whitebait
I adore under-ripe or even green mangoes as they contribute both texture and a wonderful acidity to a dish. Asian food stores specialise in such fruit; otherwise simply fossick through the pile for a really firm one and your dish will be great.
We often tend to overlook some of our smaller fish. Whitebait is a good case in point and it is stocked by all decent fishmongers. If you cannot get whitebait, simply serve this salad with another fish.
INGREDIENTS
(Serves 4)
- 500g whitebait
- flour
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- clean oil
- coriander leaves
- fried shallots — from Asian provision stores
- 1 cup roasted fresh peanuts
Salad
- 1 green mango, peeled and cut into fine shreds
- 1 cup spring onions, cut on the long diagonal
- 1 Lebanese cucumber, shredded
- 1-2 red chillies, finely shredded, or to your taste
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 1 cup fresh coconut, grated — optional but good
- 2/3 cup coriander leaves
- ½ cup mint leaves
- handful bean sprouts
Dressing
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp palm sugar, grated or sliced
- 2 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 tsp grated ginger
METHOD
Lightly dust the fish in seasoned flour. Heat the oil to moderately hot — about 180C if you have a thermometer. For the salad, combine the ingredients. For the dressing, combine the ingredients and dress the salad. Deep-fry the whitebait until golden brown and crispy and drain on paper towelling. Tumble the fish through the salad and serve at once with a scatter of coriander leaves, fried shallots and peanuts — and yes I forgot the nuts and fried shallots in the picture!
© The West Australian
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