I tasted this fresh, vibrant and spicy prawn salad last week at Spice I Am, a stylish restaurant in Victoria Street, Darlinghurst.   Owner Sujet Saenkham kindly gave me his recipe and you can can see from the picture how beautifully it was presented.

For Spice I Am dressing, pound garlic and birds-eye chillies with mortar and pestle to make a smooth paste. Mix with palm sugar, fish sauce, lime juice and olive oil. Stir well and set aside.
Combine Thai cooked king prawns, lemongrass, green onions, spring onion, kaffir lime leaves, mint leaves and cashews together in a bowl. Add 2 -3 tablespoons of dressing and toss well to coat.

Tip: I suggest you use  a circular salad stack (or PVC ring), sprayed with oil, if you wish to achieve the same shape – and that you reduce the quantity of chillies if you don’t like too much heat (in fact I suggest you start with just one or two chillies and add more to taste!).  Look for farmed Thai prawns, which are both affordable and free from chemicals and antibiotics. If you use the circular salad stack, move the salad to a platter by sliding a flat spatula underneath.  Ease it out then carefully remove the stack.