What happened was that the grocery shopping arrived and one thing I always have is frozen seafood in the freezer.
Usually whole (cleaned, gutted) squid, big raw prawns and some scallops. Er, right now, the freezer box is so full of ice I can’t even get at the squid. And yes, I actually have a small under-counter fridge with just a freezer box at the top. I like that it’s under the counter and looks neat in the kitchen and also I don’t like to store (hoard) too much food so it works for me. Unless the freezer box is totally iced closed of course.
The newly arrived bags of frozen prawns and scallops were not going to wait for the freezer to defrost either!
I used some of them for an unexpectedly luxurious lunch for a normal Thursday, making them into a quick stir fry with gorgeous chorizo, a little chilli and a little spring onion and had it with rice.
I then poached all the rest by bringing a pan of water to the boil with a crumbled stock cube and some slices of fresh ginger, added the seafood (defrosted by then) and simmering very very gently for 3-4 minutes. Cool and it’ll keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.
OK, it’s not the prettiest way to use seafood but I definitely didn’t want to waste it.
Friday was therefore another unexpectedly luxurious lunchtime treat of a Thai seafood salad, or yum talay.
To make a deliciously indulgent, summery salad for one, you’ll need:
the juice of one juicy lime
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2-1 teaspoon sugar (granulated or castor)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
cooked seafood - whatever and how much you choose. I have prawns and scallops
lettuce (I used little gem), cut in half and shredded
a few cherry tomatoes, quartered
a shallot, peeled and sliced into nice long slices, not diced
fresh herbs (optional) - whatever you have and like. I had coriander, mint and basil
Mix all of the dressing ingredients together (lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, chilli flakes) in a large bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Taste and add more of any of the ingredients to make it perfect for you.
Add the cooked seafood straight into the dressing and then the lettuce, tomatoes and shallots.
Mix it all together - you can use a spoon if you prefer but I like to use my (clean) hands to slightly massage it all in.
Add the fresh herbs, if using, and mix again.
Pile onto a plate and eat.
Perhaps have a glass of rosé with it if it’s sunny and you fancy it!
