Who doesn’t love a good seafood salad? This Asian inspired baby cuttlefish salad is paired with the crunch of the green papaya, pungent fish sauce and tamed by aromatic palm sugar.
Peel green papaya then shred with a julienne peeler or mandolin.
Shred the purple cabbage with a julienne peeler or mandolin.
Cut the ends off the snake beans. Place the snake beans into boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Cut the snake beans to about 1 cm wide.
Cut the stem off the chilli. Slice it down the middle on one side of chilli and open it up. Remove the seeds. Cut the chilli into half or thirds, depending on the size and then cut into thin matchstick slices.
Wash and pat dry baby cuttlefish. Ensure the bay cuttlefish is completely dry. With paper towels, squeeze between the palms of your hands gently to remove as much water as possible. Coat the baby cuttlefish with olive oil. On a grill pan on high heat, grill the baby cuttlefish 2.5 minutes on each side.
Chop cilantro (coriander) leaves.
Salad Dressing
Grate the palm sugar. In a small saucepan, add 100g of water to 50g of palm sugar and mix on low heat for about 5 minutes or until fully dissolved.
In a medium mixing bowl, add the palm sugar, juice of 1 lemon, fish sauce and grated garlic clove. Mix thoroughly.
Assembly
In the bowl of dressing, add the shredded green papaya, snake beans, cilantro (coriander) and chilli. Mix well.
On a serving platter, place ½ of the mixed salad to start with. Add half the shredded purple cabbage. Then place ½ the grilled baby cuttlefish more on the outer part of the salad so that it's visible.
Then add ¼ of the salad, followed by the rest of the purple cabbage. Continue with the rest of the grilled baby cuttlefish and finish it off with the rest of the salad mix.
Get a few slices of the red chilli to place on top to add to the vibrant colours.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve immediately.
Notes
As a substitute for baby cuttlefish, use baby octopus or a regular squid. Just slice the squid into rings.
If you’re not able to find green papaya, use carrots. It has the same consistency and the tastes are similar. Do not get regular ripe papaya. This fruit is completely different when it's ripe and not suitable for this salad.
You will be able to find palm sugar in your Asian grocery store. Another well known name for palm sugar is also Gula Melaka.