A delicious but simple salad. You can substitute the prawns for cooked shredded chicken (a left over roast chook would work) or omit meat and make it vegetarian. Experiment with different types of cabbage and other vegetables.

Preparation time 20 mins.

Ingredients

1/2 stick  Lemon grass, outer layer removed and roughly chopped

1 long red chilli

6 cloves garlic

2 whole limes juiced

2 tbspns sesame oil

100 ml fish sauce

1 tbspn sugar

75ml water

1/2 Chinese Cabbage or wombok finely shredded

1 cup grated green papaya (remove seeds first)

1 Lebanese cucumber, seeds removed and finely sliced

1 bunch shallots, finely chopped

700g of cooked peeled prawns (use green prawns and cook yourself or buy already cooked)

1 pack rice vermicelli noodles, cooked in boiling water for 2 mins and then rinsed under cold water

1 tbspn sesame seeds, roasted in a saucepan until just starting to brown

Handful of chopped roasted peanuts

1/4 bunch each coriander, mint and Vietnamese mint

1 long red chilli finely chopped

Method

Crush the garlic, with sugar and chilli in a morter and pestle  and then blend in a food processor  lemongrass and oil. Add fish sauce and lime juice and blend again. Taste then add half water gradually tasting as you go and stopping if dressing becomes too watery. You can add more fish sauce and sugar to taste. Put aside.

Mix noodles, shallots, cabbage and cucumber add half of dressing and mix well. Taste and add more dressing to taste. This salad can be made a few hours in advance. Mix through peanuts, sesame seeds and herbs at last minute and chopped red chilli to taste.