Thai crab salad with corn fritters

Thai crab salad with corn fritters

 

Thai salads are truly one of life's pleasures, packed full of flavour. This is one of my own recipes and is quick and simple to prepare.  The fritters make a great side dish to a  meal that will bring a true taste of Thailand to your table.

 

 

 

What's needed

For the salad dressing

2-3 red bird eye chilli's

2 limes

half teaspoon shrimp paste

1-2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon Thai basil paste

2 teaspoons tamarind concentrate paste

1 stick lemon grass

1-2 lime leafs

For the salad

1 red onion
One tin of crab meet chunks (I use blue swimming crab meat chunks)

1 stick celery

1 red bell pepper

1 under ripe mango

Third of a cucumber

3-4 mild red chilli's

Handful of fresh mint leafs

Handful of fresh Thai basil

Handful of fresh coriander stalk and leaf

2-3 round tomatoes

2-3 spring onions

  

 

For corn fritters

Oil for deep frying

Plain flour

One large tin of sweet corn

1-2 spring onions

3 cloves garlic

Handful of fresh coriander

1-2 red bird eye chilli's
salt and pepper

 

 Preparation

With this dish the dressing, salad and corn fritter mixture need prepared with cooking assembly at the last minute.

 

Salad dressing

1. Bruise a stick of lemon grass and discard the outer layers retaining only the inner fragrant part.
2. Finley chop the lemongrass and the chillies (retain the seed for some heat, if you like it 'thai' spicy add as many as you dare. If you don't like it too spicy remove the seeds).
3. Add the chopped chillies and lemongrass to a mortar and pestle.
4. Roll two limes and add the juice to the mortar and pestle.
5. Next add 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 teaspoons tamarind concentrate, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 lime leave (cut/broken into small pieces), half teaspoon shrimp paste and 1 teaspoon Thai basil paste
6. Grind the dressing mixture using the pestle to dissolve the sugar and to break down the lemongrass and chill.
7. The dressing can be used straight away or chilled for up to 24hrs. In this case keep aside to dress salad 5mins before serving.

The salad

1. In a large bowl collect the following ingredients
2. cut 1/3 of a cucumber length ways and deseed to produce a crescent shape. Using paper towel pat dry the cumber pieces to remove any excess moisture, then add to bowl.
3. Chop 2 spring onions finely and add to bowl. Peel a red onion and pull the layers apart. Discard inner core, then chop the other layers into small baton style chunks and add to bowl.
4. Into small bite sized pieces chop the red pepper, celery stick and the mango. Cut the tomatoes into eighths (half, half and half again) and add to the bowl.
5. Chop a handful of mint, coriander and Thai basil and add to the bowl leaving the leaves on top of the salad mixture.
6. Drain the tin of crab and add to top of salad.
7. Set salad aside to be dressed prior to serving. 
8. Roughly chop or crush a handful of peanuts to sprinkle onto of salad later.

 

The fritters

1. Take the large can of sweet corn, drain and add to a large mixing bowl.
2. As finely as possible chop two red chillies, three cloves of garlic, two or three spring onions and a handful of coriander. Add to the bowl.
3. Add 1 teaspoon black pepper and same amount of  salt.
4. Now add 5-6 heaped tablespoons of white plain flour and 45ml water. Stir the mixture with aim of  producing a thick batter that falls off spoon but holds together as it does so. It is likely you will need to add either more flour or more water to achieve this, so please view quantities here as a starting point. If it is too watery add more flour, conversely more water if too dry.
5. Set aside until ready to cook.

 

 

 

Get cooking and serve



1.  Heat a large deep pan of oil to medium hot, use bred cubes to test when it is ready- a 2cm cube should brown in under a minute. If you have a deep fryer you want a medium hot setting.
2. Dress the salad with the dressing in the salad bowl. Mix with your hands giving the salad a good squeeze.
3. Using a large tablespoon measure scoops of the batter and carefully add one at a time to the oil. The batter is wet and hot oil may splash when adding. Do not overfill the fryer, I usually cook in two batches.
4. Deep fry until the batter turns a golden brown on all sides and the fritters rise to the top of the oil.
5. Remove from oil, drain well and pat down on a plate with kitchen paper.
6. Serve the fritters and salad, adding the chopped peanuts on top for texture.