Catfish Salad with Green Apple and Mango

Catfish Salad with Green Apple and Mango


    125 ml (½ cup) water

    ¼ teaspoon salt

    500 g (1 lb) catfish fillets

    Oil for deep-frying

    1 unripe mango, peeled and cut into sticks

    1 green apple, cut into sticks

    1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced

    125 g (4 oz) lettuce, torn to yield 2 cups

    4 tablespoons coarsely chopped roasted unsalted peanuts, to garnish

    Sprigs of coriander leaves (cilantro), to garnish

    Dressing

    60 ml (¼ cup) fish sauce

    60 ml (¼ cup) freshly squeezed lime juice

    3 tablespoons shaved palm sugar or brown sugar

    1 tablespoon sliced red chili

    1 Combine all the Dressing ingredients in a bowl and mix until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

    2 Bring the water and salt to a boil in a wok or skillet, and poach the fish fillets over medium low heat for about 5 minutes until cooked. Remove from the heat and pat the fillets dry with paper towels. Place the fillets on a tray. Using a fork, shred the fillets into rough and fuzzy strands. Set aside to dry for 30 minutes.

    3 Heat the oil in a wok until hot. Drop the fish strands into the hot oil at different spots and deep-fry for 3 to 5 minutes, turning once, until puffed, crispy and golden brown on all sides. Remove with a wire mesh or slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

    4 Combine the deep-fried puffed fish, mango, apple and onion іn a mіxіng bowl аnd gently tоѕѕ to mіx well, аddіng thе
 Dressing a little at a time.

    5 To serve, line a serving platter with shredded lettuce, top with the fish mixture and garnish with peanuts and coriander leaves. Alternatively, serve individually in layers of ingredients with the deed-fried puffed fish on top and a bowl of Dressing on the side.

    If catfish is not available, use 1 can of tuna chunks instead. Do not poach the tuna, just drain and shred, then deep-fry in the same manner.

    Serves 6 to 8
Preparation time: 30 mins
time: 10 mins