This salad is perfect for a Valentine’s day supper. It’s tasty, it looks good and it leaves your lips tingling, I hope the same can be said for your date!

I love these shredded salads the simple act of cutting all the vegetables very fine  transforms even rather humble ingredients such as carrots and spring onions.  I use a sharp knife for the onions, but a mandolin for the more sturdy vegetables.The addition of green, unripe, mango or papaya adds an exotic touch well in keeping with Thai street food. Naturally  though when I went shopping for an under ripe mango the ones on offer were all meltingly soft, had I wanted a ripe one no doubt they would all have been hard…

The combination of hot and sweet is essentially Thai. I make very spicy dressing  and use only use a couple of spoonfuls to dress the salad, serving the rest separately to add as you wish. If you chose the tiny Thai birdseye chillies do be warned that while they are authentic , they are extremely hot.

I hear Sainsbury’s will soon be selling fresh UK grown lime leaves. I buy mine from a local oriental shop. Frozen lime leaves keep well and defrost quickly. When using lemon grass I urge you to be wasteful, peel of all the fibrous outside leaves keeping only the very centre, you are looking for a piece of lemon grass about 3-4inches long and thiner that a fine green bean.

Don’t throw the outer leaves away, the make wonderful infusions which, when sweetened with honey, are the perfect drink to warm you on a cold morning.

You can use almost any protein with this salad I’ve chosen chicken but prawns, fineley shredded rare beef or grilled tofu would work well.

Thai Shredded Chicken and Green Mango Salad