Vietnamese rice and prawn, cucumber salad
What You Need
For the rice:
- 300g superior aromatic rice
- 1 tsp sunflower oil
For the salad:
- 120g cashews
- 300g raw, shelled king prawns
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp sunflower oil
- 150g mange tout, finely sliced
- ½ a large cucumber, cut into julienne strips
- 1 red pepper, finely diced
For the dressing:
- 2 limes, juiced
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp caster sugar
- 2 shallots, finely sliced
- 1-2 birds eye chillies finely sliced
- a bunch of coriander, chopped
- a bunch of chives, snipped
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
What to do
- Rinse the rice under running cold water and add to a bowl. Cover well with cold water and set aside to soak for 30 minutes. Drain well. Heat a little oil in a saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Once it is hot, tip in the drained rice and stir fry for 30 seconds to coat each grain lightly in oil. Pour in boiling water from the kettle so that it comes just 1 centimeter above the level of the rice. Stir well and bring up to the boil. Cover with the lid and set the timer to boil for just one minute. Turn off the heat and, without removing the lid, reset the timer for 13 minutes. Remove the lid and fork through the rice grains which will have absorbed all the water and become light and fluffy.
- Whilst the rice is cooking, prepare the dressing. Add the lime juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar to a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Stir through the shallots, chillies, coriander and chives and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Set a small frying pan over a medium high heat and add the cashew nuts. Dry fry for a few minutes to toast, tip onto a board and roughly chop, and add to the dressing. Reduce the heat a little and add a little oil to the frying pan. Add the garlic and prawns and stir fry until the prawns are cooked through, then tip into the dressing stirring well to mix.
- Add the mange tout, cucumber and pepper to the bowl and mix well. Finally, add the cooked rice, still hot, and fork through gently. Eat whilst still warm, or allow to cool and eat chilled.