Name: Christine Manfield’s coconut crab and green mango salad
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6

Christine Manfield’s coconut crab and green mango salad

Christine Manfield's coconut crab and green mango salad- Combine crab and 100ml of dressing in a large bowl and stand for 5 minutes for flavours to mingle.

Serves 6

Prep

30M

“This salad bursts with fresh, vibrant flavours and became a signature on my Paramount menus,” says Christine Manfield. “I capitalised on using green mangoes in many dishes as they became more widely available. Blue swimmer crabs from South Australia have the most delicious sweet meat. It’s best to buy them whole, cook them yourself and carefully pick the meat from the shell – a tedious task but it gives the best flavour. This entrée also works well with spanner crab meat (you can buy this in packs ready cooked from reliable fishmongers). The sweetness of the crab, the richness of the fresh coconut and the sourness of green mango make a wonderful partnership. It’s all about harmony on the palate and using the very best produce.”

Ingredients

250 gm cooked spanner or blue swimmer crab meat, drained of excess liquid

2½ tbsp shredded fresh coconut

½ small green mango, cut into julienne

½ Lebanese cucumber, seeds removed, cut into julienne

3 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced

1½ red shallots, thinly sliced

1 spring onion, thinly sliced diagonally

Handful of watercress leaves

1 tbsp shredded Vietnamese mint

2 tsp shredded mint

2 tsp shredded coriander

2 tsp pickled ginger, cut into julienne

½ long red chilli, seeds removed, cut into julienne

6 large betel leaves

Fried shallots, to serve

Coconut-lime dressing

50 ml lime juice, strained

25 ml coconut water

25 ml coconut vinegar

3 tsp fish sauce

3 tsp sugar syrup (see cook’s notes)

3 tsp grapeseed oil

2 drops sesame oil

Method

Main

1.For coconut-lime dressing, combine ingredients in a jar, season to taste with freshly ground black pepper, seal and shake to combine.

2.Combine crab and 100ml of dressing in a large bowl and stand for 5 minutes for flavours to mingle. Add remaining ingredients except betel leaves and fried shallots, drizzle just enough dressing on top to moisten and toss salad gently with your hands. Pile a little saladon top of each betel leaf, scatter with fried shallots and serve.