Vietnamese Barramundi Salad

Vietnamese Barramundi Salad

Serves 4
Preparation 15 minutes
Cooking 25 minutes

Ingredients

2 tail fillets (400g) barramundi, skin on
2 tablespoons cornflour
Peanut oil for shallow frying
Salt
1 punnet baby cukes or 1 Lebanese cucumber
½ bunch each Thai basil or basil, mint, coriander, leaves picked
1 small green mango or green papaya, thinly sliced
1 avocado, thinly sliced
2 red shallots, finely chopped
¼ cup (35g) raw macadamias, peanuts or cashews, chopped

Dressing

1 long red chilli, deseeded finely chopped
Juice and zest of 1 lime
2 tablespoons (40ml) fish sauce
2 tablespoons (40ml) rice wine vinegar
¼ cup (55g) caster sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C). With a sharp knife remove the skin from each barramundi fillet. Scrape clean and lay on one baking tray covered with baking paper. Sprinkle with salt, cover with another sheet of baking paper and cover with another baking tray identical to the one underneath. Put in oven and cook for 25 mins or until crisp.
2. Slice the barramundi into 3cm cubes, then place in a ziplock bag with the cornflour. Seal the bag and shake to coat.
3. Heat the oil to 180°C in a medium saucepan then carefully add half the barramundi pieces. Fry until crisp and golden, then remove and drain on paper towel. Repeat with remaining barramundi. Sprinkle over a little salt.
4. Shake in a jar or whisk together all the dressing ingredients until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
5. Cut baby cukes in quarters lengthways. Place in a large serving bowl with the fish, washed herbs, mango, avocado and shallots. Pour over half the dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle with nuts and broken pieces of crisp skin. Serve immediately with extra dressing on the side.

Lyndey’s Note: Macadamias are Australia’s own native nut, popularised when planted in Hawaii, but indigenous to Australia. Barramundi, an Australian Aboriginal word meaning large scaled river fish, is also native to Australia and appears in indigenous Australian rock art. The flavour is best from large fish. You can substitute with sea bass.

Recipe first created for Selector Magazine but adapted to use macadamia nuts instead of the more traditional peanuts or cashews for zoom TV segment for The Power of the Tribe