Thai wombok salad

We never really had Thai food when I was growing up. We were strictly a fried rice and sweet and sour pork family, not too much divergence from the old 'special' No.3: lemon chicken/chow mein/rice from our local Chinese restaurant. But my, how that changed.

As soon as I moved away from home I was eager to get my hands on as many different flavours as I could, especially those of the Asian variety. Coming from Cabramatta in Sydney's south-west, I had started to become very familiar with Vietnamese cuisine. But it wasn't until much later that Thai restaurants started to pop their lemon grass and kaffir heads up all over the country.

My manager at my first job once gave me some green curry paste that took the skin of my lips, the culinary equivalent of firewalking. I was fascinated but burned by the experience. But I have slowly succumbed to the fiery siren call of Thai cuisine again.

These days, we use Thai flavours at home just about every week, with lime juice, palm sugar, shrimp paste. It adds a zing, a brightness to the dullest of winter days. If you think you can't handle salad in winter, give this a try. It's as good for the soul as a chicken soup.

Thai wombok salad

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Serves 4 as a side dish

• 1 wombok (Chinese cabbage), shredded finely
• ½ cup coriander, chopped
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• juice of 1 lime
• ½ cup of unsalted peanuts
• 1 tablespoon grated pam sugar or coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 lime, sliced into wedges
• 1 long red chilli, finely sliced

Combine wombok, spring onion and coriander together in a large bowl. In a food processer, blitz lime juice, peanuts, palm sugar, fish sauce, vinegar and oil. Fish sauce and rice wine until they become paste-like, Spoon into salad mixture and mix thoroughly.

Serve in a big salad bowl topped with lime wedges and freshly sliced chilli. This is a great salad to serve with charred prawns or a perfectly cooked Asian-style steak.