Shredded Snow Fish

Somnuk Kongsa is the chef de partie at The Mangosteen Resort & Spa in Rawai. Here she shows us how to make two delicious dishes: shredded snow fish with green mango salad, and Mangosteen salad. Both dishes look very beautiful and – better yet – they are very easy to make.

Preparation time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking time: 2-3 minutes
Serves: 1 portion

Ingredients:

• Snow fish: One fish, 600-650 gr.
• Bread crumbs: 150 gr.
• Green mango: 350 gr.
• Shallots: 150 gr.
• Grilled cashew nuts: 12 gr.
• Green cabbage, whole leaf: 1 leaf
• Red leaves: 1 leaf
• Coriander: 2 gr.
• Prik Chi Fa chili (long red chili): 10 gr.
• Cucumber: 4 slices
• Tomatoes: 4 slices
• Vegetable oil in a pan for deep frying

Sauce Ingredients:

• Garlic: 1 clove
• Shallots: 1(mall)
• Lime: 120 gr.
• Palm sugar: 1 table spoon
• “Bird” Chili: 2 pcs.
• Fish sauce: 1 table spoon

Preparation:

The sauce: Put the garlic, the shallots and the bird chili in a mortar and pulp them with the palm sugar, the fish sauce and lime to taste. Set aside.

The fish: Remove the fillets from the fish, keeping the head, skeleton and tail in one piece.
Reserve one whole filet and thinly chop the second one. Steam the chopped fish fillet and then mix it with the bread crumbs.
Heat the vegetable oil to medium heat, then deep-fry the whole fish fillet, along with the fish head, tail and skeleton.
Next, deep-fry the shredded fish fillet and bread crumb mix till crispy.
Thickly grate the green mango in a bowl, adding the cashew nuts and the prepared sauce to make a topping for the dish.
Decorate a serving plate with the cabbage, red coral leaves, tomatoes and cucumber.
Place the fish head and skeleton on the decorated plate, place the whole fillet on top of them and then the shredded fish over that. Cover it all with the mango salad topping.
Decorate with chopped shallots, coriander leaves and Prik Chi Fa.

Tips from the chef:

Put the mango in cold water for 3 or 4 minutes after chopping it. This will make it more more crunchy.

If you can’t find any green or raw mango, try green apple. Make sure to use a type of apple that has a sour taste. It may help to use a bit of lime juice on top for extra acidity.

To make a good “yum” or salad in Thai food, the sauce must have a strong flavour. Be generous with the fish sauce and lime juice.

Mangosteen Salad

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 2-3 minutes
Serves: 1 portion

Ingredients

Salad:

• Mixed leaves (iceberg salad, red oak, green oak, romaine...): 50 gr.
• Green papaya, grated: 10 gr.
• Cherry tomatoes: 5 pcs.
• Green cabbage, whole leaf: 1 pce.
• Spring onion: 2 stems
• Grilled cashew nuts: 1 tablespoon
• Sliced red onions, deep-fried: 1 teaspoon
• Mint leaves: few leaves
• Prawns: 5 pcs.

Dressing:

• Virgin olive oil: 2 tablespoons
• Red wine vinegar: 1 tablespoon
• Balsamic vinegar: 1 tablespoon
• Bird chili, finely chopped: 1
• Shallot, finely chopped: 1
• Mint leaves, finely chopped 1 teaspoon
• Salt and pepper To taste

Preparation:

- Poach the shelled prawns
- In a bowl toss all the ingredients of the dressing together.
- Add the green leaves mixt, the grated papaya, 3 halved cherry tomatoes and mix everything together.
- On a plate lay out the white cabbage leaf and fill it with the mixed leaves.
- Sprinkle the grilled cashew nuts and the red onions over the salad
- Decorate with the prawns, the spring onions, the remaining cherry tomatoes and the mint leaves.

Meet the chef

Originally from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Khun Somnuk graduated from Ramkhamhaeng University in Bangkok with a degree in public administration. She started her working life as a civil servant with a sub-district administration organisation – an OrBorTor – in her home province.

While working there, she visited Phuket several times and fell in love with the place. When her contract expired in 2001, she moved to the island.

“I know that my current job seems to have nothing to do with my educational background,” she says, “but if you look at it closely there is a connection because, basically, what I was taught was how to deal with and work with people – and that’s what hotel work is also all about.”

When did you start work at The Mangosteen?

In 2003. I started as a cook’s helper. I worked hard and, about a year ago, I was promoted to chef de partie. Now I’m doing both Thai dishes and international food for the resort.

When did you start cooking ?

Before I came to Mangosteen, I worked at a French restaurant at Rawai Beach for a few years, initially doing service work, not in the kitchen.

Later on they were short of kitchen staff and I was asked to help out. Next thing I knew the chef was teaching me how to cook. That’s how it all started.

What is the best part of being a chef?

This work keeps me “jai yen” – cool-headed – because there is a lot of responsibility that comes with it. I also like cooking and present food attractively to people.

What is your favorite dish of all to eat?

I love spicy Thai food such as tom yam and pad phet.

What is your number one priority at work?

Hygiene.

If you weren’t a chef, what other career would you follow?

I would go back to my village and teach English to the children. I think that, for anyone to become a success, no matter what their choice of career, they have to have English.

My village is poor and there are not many options for the kids. It would be nice to be able to help them.