Prawn and pomelo salad with roasted chilli dressing

Step 1

For roasted chilli dressing, heat a wok over high heat, add shallot and garlic, stir-fry until charred and starting to soften (1-2 minutes), then transfer to a small food processor. Add chillies to wok, stir-fry until toasted (1-2 minutes), then add to shallot mixture and blend to a coarse paste. Heat oil in wok, add shrimp paste and stir until toasted (10-20 seconds), then add shallot paste, palm sugar, fish sauce, tamarind and 60ml water, and stir continuously until jammy (2-3 minutes). Adjust seasoning with palm sugar, fish sauce and tamarind; dressing should be hot, sweet, salty and a little sour. Roasted chilli dressing will keep refrigerated for 3 weeks; use as a condiment.

Step 2

For fried shallots, heat 5cm oil in a wok over medium heat, add shallot in batches and stir until golden and crisp (2-3 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Step 3

Drain most of the oil from the wok, leaving 2 tbsp. (Reserve remaining oil for cooking other dishes.) Heat over high heat, add half the prawns and cook without stirring for 1 minute, then stir-fry occasionally until golden and just opaque (3-4 minutes). Repeat with remaining prawns.

Step 4

Toss prawns and fruit with a tablespoon of roasted chilli dressing in a bowl. Add shallot and herbs, toss lightly, scatter with fried shallots and serve with extra dressing and lime.