Squid and Prawn Salad

Today's Thai-inspired dish is quick to put together and has a nice combination of flavours that typify Thai cuisine.

250g small squid hoods
200g peeled raw prawns
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons chilli paste or fresh deseeded chopped chillis
1 medium red onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons finely chopped lemon grass
3 tablespoons finely chopped mint
1 good-sized coriander plant, finely chopped (including stems)

Using a sharp knife, open out the squid tubes and score the insides diagonally in crisscross fashion. As the squid cooks, it will curl up and the scoring makes an attractive pattern that also helps hold the sauce. If these are larger squid hoods, cut the scored squid into smaller pieces.

Put the water, fish sauce, lemon juice and chilli paste or chopped chillis in a large saucepan. Add the squid and simmer until tender - anything from 5 to 15 minutes. Towards the end of cooking add the prawns and simmer until they are cooked through. Set aside to cool in the cooking liquid. Check the seasoning, adding more fish sauce or lemon juice if required.

When the fish is at room temperature, stir in the remaining ingredients then tip into a serving dish and serve with a tossed salad. The cooking liquid serves as a dressing.