One thing I loved about Cambodia was that the food endlessly surprised me, and this salad was one such dish. It felt modern and chic and proved that their cuisine is once more evolving and moving forward.

It is the preparation of the beef that makes this dish different. The beef is cured by the lime juice in the marinade, making the meat tender and packed with a sour but tangy punch. Whether you serve the beef rare or cooked, it is well worth spending money on a good-quality aged fillet. It really will make a difference. I have added some green beans and radishes here to make the salad more substantial and colourful.

Trim the beef fillet or get a butcher to do it. You only want the eye of the fillet, so if you’re trimming it yourself, remove the extra flap of meat that will be attached on one side. (Don’t throw it away though – bash it out a bit and it’ll make a good steak sandwich.) Cover the beef in cling film and place it in the freezer. This will firm up the beef and make it easier to slice. After 30 minutes, remove the beef from the freezer, take off the cling film and thinly slice the meat against the grain. Cut the slices into thin strips.

To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add the beef, cover with cling film and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes. When the beef is cured, remove it from the marinade, discarding the liquid.

Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a bowl.

In a large salad bowl, combine the beef with all the salad ingredients and mix well. Drizzle the salad with the dressing and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Kerabu mushroom and chicken salad

SERVES 6–8

SALAD

1.5 litres chicken stock

2 skinless chicken breasts

50g dried black fungus

3 tbsp sweetened desiccated coconut

½ green cabbage, finely shredded

2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 spring onions, thinly sliced

1 red chilli, thinly sliced

small handful of coriander leaves

small handful of mint leaves

2cm knob of ginger, peeled and finely diced

DRESSING

4 tbsp sambal belacan (Basics)

juice of 2 limes

1–2 tbsp palm sugar

pinch of salt

This is an unusual dish, compared to what we have come to expect of salads in the Western world, but that’s the charm of Malaysia: the mix of cultures living side by side creates some inspiring food. Although essentially Malaysian in style, this salad has influences from Thai cuisine.

There are many different variations of a Kerabu, but the flavours must always be balanced between sweet, sour, spicy and salty. This particular version can be considered Nonya because of the Chinese influence of the Bok nee – Chinese black fungus – however, you can use any dried fungus for this recipe. This is a substantial salad, best served as a main course with steamed rice, as it is in Malaysia.

Bring the stock to a boil in a medium pan and add the chicken so that it is submerged. Cover the pan and bring back to the boil. Lower the heat and allow to simmer for 12 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. When the chicken is cool to the touch, pull apart to shred and set aside.

Put the fungus in a bowl and cover with boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove from the liquid and thinly slice. Set aside. Dry-fry the coconut until toasted and fragrant.

Make the dressing by mixing together all the ingredients. Set aside.

To make the salad, put the chicken, fungus, coconut and remaining salad ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.

Pour over the dressing and toss all the ingredients until they are evenly covered. Serve immediately.

Southern Thai rice and pomelo salad

SERVES 6

1 lemongrass stalk, soft white part only, thinly sliced

350g cooked jasmine rice

1 small pomelo, peeled and shredded

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1 carrot, grated

1 courgette, grated

100g fine beans, thinly sliced

small handful of coriander leaves, finely shredded

50g beansprouts

100g desiccated coconut, toasted

2 Thai red chillies, thinly sliced, to serve

small handful of sweet basil leaves, shredded, to serve

DRESSING

4 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp palm sugar

juice of 4 limes

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

In Southern Thailand this salad is known as Kao yum, and it was there that I discovered it. While visiting a local food competition I stepped away to look round the stalls, and on one an amazing array of ingredients was laid out – including rice and shredded pomelo flesh. Intrigued, I stood and watched as the woman on the stall simply mixed a little of all the ingredients from the platter, including the pomelo, into a bowl with some rice and spooned over a dressing. There it was – the Kao yum.

A pomelo is one of the largest of the citrus fruits and is native to Southeast Asia; its closest relation is the grapefruit, but its flesh is sweet and firmer. It is worth the time that it takes to peel away the thick skin and pith, as the first taste of this fruit reminds me why I should eat it more often.

This dish is a great way to use up leftover rice, or you can cook it fresh. It is perfect eaten by itself or makes an exciting addition to a picnic.

To prepare the dressing, place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix. Cover with cling film and set aside.

In a pestle and mortar, pound the lemongrass stalk to bruise it slightly but not crush it. Place in a bowl and mix in all the other salad ingredients. Spoon over the dressing and mix again.

When ready to serve, spoon out the rice salad into serving bowls and garnish with the chillies and Thai basil.

Green papaya salad

SERVES 4

1 garlic clove, peeled

juice of 2 limes

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp palm sugar

pinch of salt

2 tbsp roasted peanuts

100g snake beans or green beans, cut into 3cm lengths

50g beansprouts

1 shallot, peeled and thinly sliced

1 green papaya, peeled and julienned thinly (ideally) on a mandolin

2 tomatoes, diced

1 red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced

1 tbsp ground dried shrimp

GARNISH

small handful of coriander leaves

For me, this salad has the wow factor. The secret to a great Som tam, or green papaya salad, is gently mashing the ingredients together in a pestle and mortar so that the juices and flavours are extracted and brought together at the same time. This salad is available all over Thailand – from street corners to upmarket restaurants – and while on my escape round the country a day didn’t go by without me eating this salad. In the humidity, the sweet and sour flavours were really refreshing.

Gordon’s Great Escape Southeast Asia: 100 of my favourite Southeast Asian recipes

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