Grilled Spencer Gulf King Prawns with Vermecelli Rice Noodles, Asian Herb Salad and Vietnamese Dressing

By Dennis Leslie

• 800gm Spencer Gulf King Prawns
• 1 Carrot Peel, using peeler, peel long, thick strips
• 1 Cucumber Quarter, deseed length ways and slice on angle
• 250gr Bag Bean Sprouts
• 5tblspn Palm Sugar
• ¼ cup Fish Sauce
• ¼ cup Water
• 3 Large Red Chillies
• 4 Garlic Cloves
• 500gr packet of Rice Vermicelli Noodles
• 1 Bunch Coriander Pick leaves
• 1 Bunch Mint Pick Leaves
• 1 Bunch Laksa Mint Pick Leaves
• 3 Spring Onion Finely sliced and placed into ice water
• Sea Salt
• White Pepper

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Blanch the noodles in boiling hot water for 1 minute, take off the heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Strain with running cold water to cool it down rapidly. Set aside until needed.

For the dressing, place the palm sugar in a pot with the water and slowly bring up the heat, just to dissolve the sugar and set aside to cool down.

Pound the chilli and garlic in a mortar and pestle to a fine paste.

Add the chilli/garlic paste to the palm sugar solution.

Add the fish sauce to the dressing to taste. You may need a little more fish sauce or sugar depending on the balance.

For the Spencer Gulf King Prawns, heat up a large heavy bottom pan. Add oil.

Season the Spencer Gulf King Prawns with salt and pepper and seal the Spencer Gulf King Prawns on one side for 1 minute then turn to the other side and cook for a further one minute. Leave slightly undercooked.

Mix the Spencer Gulf King Prawns with the cooked noodles and use half the dressing to moisten the noodles.

Mix the carrot, cucumber, bean sprouts to the noodles along with the rest of the dressing.

Place the salad into a bowl and garnish with the mixed herbs and the spring onions which would have curled up from sitting in the ice.