I have ever seen. Children as young as 4 years old were tucking in, spooning this sauce on top and swallowing them whole. It was amazing to see.
This dipping sauce provides a refreshing change alongside oysters, without overpowering their delicate and unique flavour. However, if you don’t like your oysters raw, this sauce is ideal for baking them with; simply place the oysters in their shells in a hot oven (200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6), spoon over the sauce and bake for 10–15 minutes or until cooked. Typically this dish is served with extra slices of garlic and chilli.
If you wish you can spread a thick layer of rock salt on one or two serving platters and scatter over the seaweed on which to sit the oysters in their half shells.
In a bowl, mix together the garlic, shallot, coriander and chilli for the dipping sauce. Stir well. Add the sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce and lime juice to the mixture and mix well.
When ready to serve, spoon half the sauce over the oysters and put the rest into a small bowl to serve alongside.
Salads
Kerabu mushroom and chicken salad
Southern Thai rice and pomelo salad
Roasted duck leg and bamboo shoot salad
Green mango salad with king prawns
SERVES 6 AS A STARTER, 4 AS A MAIN
SALAD
500g centre-cut beef fillet piece
½ cucumber, sliced
100g green beans, cooked and sliced into 3cm lengths
5 radishes, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
small handful of Thai basil leaves
small handful of mint
1 shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts
1 red chilli, thinly sliced
1 round head of lettuce, leaves torn
MARINADE
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
1–2 tbsp fish sauce
juice of 3 limes, zest of 1
1 tbsp palm sugar
1 lemongrass stalk, trimmed and thinly sliced
DRESSING
½ tbsp honey
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
juice of 1 lime
One thing I loved about Cambodia was that the food endlessly surprised me, and this salad was one such dish. It felt modern and chic and proved that their cuisine is once more evolving and moving forward.
It is the preparation of the beef that makes this dish different. The beef is cured by the lime juice in the marinade, making the meat tender and packed with a sour but tangy punch. Whether you serve the beef rare or cooked, it is well worth spending money on a good-quality aged fillet. It really will make a difference. I have added some green beans and radishes here to make the salad more substantial and colourful.
Trim the beef fillet or get a butcher to do it. You only want the eye of the fillet, so if you’re trimming it yourself, remove the extra flap of meat that will be attached on one side. (Don’t throw it away though – bash it out a bit and it’ll make a good steak sandwich.) Cover the beef in cling film and place it in the freezer. This will firm up the beef and make it easier to slice. After 30 minutes, remove the beef from the freezer, take off the cling film and thinly slice the meat against the grain. Cut the slices into thin strips.
To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add the beef, cover with cling film and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes. When the beef is cured, remove it from the marinade, discarding the liquid.
Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a bowl.
In a large salad bowl, combine the beef with all the salad ingredients and mix well. Drizzle the salad with the dressing and toss to coat. Serve immediately.
Kerabu mushroom and chicken salad
SERVES 6–8
SALAD
1.5 litres chicken stock
2 skinless chicken breasts
50g dried black fungus
3 tbsp sweetened desiccated coconut
½ green cabbage, finely shredded
2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 red chilli, thinly sliced
small handful of coriander leaves
small handful of mint leaves
2cm knob of ginger, peeled and finely diced
DRESSING
4 tbsp sambal belacan (Basics)
juice of 2 limes
1–2 tbsp palm sugar