Thai sour fish salad with green mangoes and herbs

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 300 g fish fillet(s), without skin and bones, already cooked
• Salt
• White pepper, freshly ground
• 3 tbsp breadcrumbs
• Oil for frying
• 2 tbsp palm sugar
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp shallot(s), Thai
• ½ tbsp chili pepper(s) (Prik Kee Noo)
• 1 tbsp lemongrass
• ½ tsp ginger root
• ½ mango(s), unripe, green
• ½ carrot(s)
• ½ handful of coriander, long or Lao, (Pak Chee Farang)
• ½ handful of Thai basil (Bai Horapa)
• ½ handful of mint
• ½ handful of coriander leaves
• ½ handful of spring onions
• 3 tbsp cashew nuts, dry roasted in a pan

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes

Yam Pladuk Fu – as Noong makes it

Fish: Shred the fish with two forks and pound with salt and pepper. Mix in the breadcrumbs and pound thoroughly again. Then pull the fish apart with your fingers or two forks. Line a large plate with kitchen paper and set aside several layers of kitchen paper for blotting the fat. Heat enough oil in a wok until very hot and fry the fish in batches until golden brown. Place on the kitchen paper and pat dry to remove as much oil as possible. “Krueang Yam” dressing: For this dressing, try to use real palm sugar (Namthan Maprau). Mix the sugar and fish sauce thoroughly, then add the lime juice and season to taste. Finely chop the chilies, thinly slice the shallots, finely chop the lemongrass and ginger root, and add everything to the sauce. Salad and topping: Dry roast the cashew nuts in a pan until they begin to brown. Be careful, they will turn black easily! Cut the mango and carrot into very fine strips. Chop the herbs, about 2 cups in total, with scissors. To serve: Arrange the fried fish on a plate or platter, place the mango and carrots either on top or around the fish. Spread the dressing over the fish and vegetables and arrange the herbs on top. Sprinkle the cashew nuts over the fish and mix everything well. The salad should be eaten immediately, otherwise the fish flakes will go soggy. In Thailand, they use Pla Duk, Thai catfish, which is cooked on the grill. You can buy it already grilled. But you can also use other fish, whether boiled, grilled, oven-baked, or fried. The fish flesh should be firm, white, and fairly dry. I’ve seen the salad on menus in Germany called “Wollfisch” (wool fish).