Crab and coconut salad

Tamara West

This tasty and delicate starter has flavours that hint of Vietnam. It’s perfect for entertaining because all the components can be prepared easily in advance, then assembled at the last minute. Sometimes if I can’t find crab meat I replace it with prawns or smoked snapper.

Ingredients

2 cups	Vegetable oil, for frying
1 packet	Wonton wrappers
2 Tbsp	Coconut cream
2 Tbsp	Mayonnaise
2 tsp	Lime juice
1 tsp	Red chilli, finely chopped
2 tsp	Mint, finely chopped
2 tsp	Coriander, finely chopped
1 tsp	Kaffir lime leaf, finely chopped
1 cup	Crab meat, cooked (Main)
½	Mangoes, diced
1	Avocado, diced
4 leaves	Baby cos lettuce, cut in half

Directions

1. In a deep-sided pot, heat the vegetable oil. Cut the wonton wrappers into 4cm wide strips on the diagonal (corner to corner). Test the temperature of the oil by cooking an offcut — it should slowly crisp up and turn a light golden colour. If it browns too quickly, take the oil off to cool a little.
2. Cook the wonton strips, then drain on paper towels.
3. Mix coconut cream, mayonnaise, lime juice, chilli and herbs to form the dressing. Add in the crab, mango and avocado, season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground white pepper. Arrange crab salad on top of wontons and lettuce.
4. Serve immediately to avoid the crisp wontons going soft. Garnish with picked fresh coriander and mint leaves.