serves
4
prep
10 minutes
cook
30 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
4
people
preparation
10
minutes
cooking
30
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 1 green mango, skin off and flesh peeled into strips with a peeler (about 2 cups worth)
- 1 tbsp maldive fish
- 1 pinch river salt
- 3–4 small green chillies
- 1 large red Asian shallot, cut in half and thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp jaggery (see Note)
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 large lime, juice only
- ⅓ cup of roasted peanuts, roughly crushed in a mortar and pestle (see Note)
- ½ cup coriander leaves
You will need a mortar and pestle to make this recipe.
Instructions
Place the green mango strips into a mixing bowl and set aside.
Combine the maldive fish and salt in a mortar and pestle and pound until the dried fish is broken down but still a little coarse. Add in the chilli and shallot and pound together until the shallot slices start to break down. Add the jaggery and swish around to mix as opposed to pounding.
Using the mortar and pestle gently pound the cherry tomatoes, just enough to release the juices and start to break down the halves.
Your mix should now be looking mushed and a little juicy. Add in the fish sauce and lime juice using the pestle to stir and combine. Taste to check for seasoning. You should have quite strong salty sour flavours with a good hit of chilli and enough background sweetness to provide balance.
Once you are satisfied with the flavour, add all of this dressing to your green mango, and give it a good stir before letting it rest for about half an hour.
Once you are ready add in the peanuts, combine them into the salad, then just before serving add in the coriander. Serve as a side dish or over some seafood.
Note
• Jaggery is an unrefined sugar typically made from sugarcane sap or date palm sap and often used in both sweet and savoury dishes in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. It is available from select delis, specialist spice shops and Indian or Asian food shops. Substitute palm sugar.
• If you don't have one big mortar and pestle, do this recipe in batches.
Photography by Sharyn Cairns. Styling by Lee Blaylock. Food preparation by Peta Gray. Creative concept by Lou Fay.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
