Mango and Prawn Salad with Cellophane Noodles

Gorgeously light and tangy, make sure you use hot chillies to keep things interesting.

(Serves 4 as a starter or light salad)

Ingredients

• 20 raw king prawns, partially shelled and deveined
• oil for frying
• 70g cellophane noodles
• 1 very firm mango
• 1/2 small telegraph cucumber
• 1/2 cup, lightly packed, coriander leaves
• 2 Tbsp crisp fried shallots
• chopped hot red chilli for garnish

Dressing

• 4 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 1/2 tsp caster sugar
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped shallot
• 1 hot red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 1/2 Tbs fish sauce

Method

1 Rinse prawns and pat dry. Cook in a little hot oil in a medium frying pan for a few minutes a side, until they change to a uniform pink colour. Transfer to a plate lined with absorbent kitchen paper. Alternatively, the prawns can be lightly poached.

2 Put cellophane noodles in a bowl, pour on hot water to cover and leave for 7 minutes (use boiled water cooled for 10 minutes), or until just tender but still a little resilient. Drain, rinse under running cold water, then drain again. Pass the scissors through the noodles several times to make them shorter in length and more manageable to eat.

3 Peel mango, then cut off mango cheeks (fleshy parts) and any other flesh. Slice finely. Peel cucumber, cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut cucumber into thin slices and put in a bowl with mango.

4 Mix dressing ingredients together and pour over mango and cucumber. Add prawns, coriander leaves and noodles and carefully toss together. Serve immediately garnished with crisp shallots and extra chilli.