← Nouns Cooking · Thai

Ingredients

• 400 g catfish fillets (or other white fish)
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1 tsp Sugar
• oil, for deep-frying
• 1 Green (unripe) mango, peeled and finely shredded
• 2 Shallot, thinly sliced
• 4 Bird's eye chilli, chopped
• 2 tbsp Fish sauce
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1½ tbsp Palm sugar, grated
• 40 g roasted cashews or peanuts
• 1 handful Coriander (cilantro), leaves picked

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Bake the fish on a lined tray for 20–25 min, until cooked and starting to dry out. Cool, then pull off and discard the skin.
2. Flake the fish and pulse it in a food processor with the salt and sugar into fine, fluffy crumbs. Spread out on a tray for a few minutes to dry further.
3. Heat 6 cm of oil in a wok to 180°C (350°F). Scatter in a handful of fish at a time; it will foam and puff into a raft. After 1–2 min, flip it and fry until deep golden and crisp, then drain on kitchen paper.
4. Stir the fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar together until dissolved, then add the chillies. Toss the mango and shallots in half of this dressing.
5. Break the crispy fish into big chunks onto a plate, pile the mango salad next to it and scatter over the nuts and coriander. Spoon the rest of the dressing over just before eating so the fish stays crunchy.

Tips

• The fish must be really dry before frying, or it won’t puff; leftover grilled fish is perfect.
• Contains cashews (tree nuts) and fish.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

ThaiTable Hot Thai Kitchen