BAMBU sits in the heart of South Melbourne Market. It’s a food destination not just for fresh fruit and vegetables, exceptional seafood and meat; it’s also home to some great restaurants. And Bambu fits in perfectly here with our focus on fresh, high-quality and delicious dishes from across Asia.
“I was born in Thailand and bring with me the rich complexity of Thai cuisine, layered with years of experience cooking in Malaysia and Singapore. Many similarities unite these cuisines, particularly the ingredients. One dish I love is otak otak, a Nyonya dish from Malaysia. I have taken the core flavours and applied them to fresh salmon. The peanut sambal, made with Caterer’s Choice peanuts, mixed with roasted chillies and roasted coconut, delivers a fiery note that contrasts beautifully with the cooling salad and aromatic chilli paste in which the salmon is cooked.” – Noppharat ‘Bobbe’ Chairattiwate
Ingredients
4 x 160g salmon cutlets
Chilli peanut sambal
- 100g Caterers’ Choice Roasted Unsalted Peanuts (63965)
- 2 large chillies, roasted
- 50g fried shallots
- 2 heaped teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 100g roasted coconut
- 1 teaspoon lime powder
Chilli paste
- 7 parts fish sauce
- 7 parts sugar
- 2 parts lemon juice
- Chopped garlic, to taste
- Chopped chilli, to taste
Asian herb salad
- 1 green apple
- Small bunch mint
- ½ bunch coriander
- ½ bunch Vietnamese mint
- ½ bunch Thai basil
- Squeeze of lime juice
Method
To prepare the chilli peanut sambal, preheat a fan-forced oven to 170°C. Spread the peanuts on a tray lined with baking paper and roast for 25 minutes, shaking occasionally. Add the peanuts to a food processor with the roasted chillies, fried shallots, sugar and salt, and pulse until well combined but still coarse. Transfer to a bowl, add the roasted coconut and lime powder, and mix thoroughly.
For the chilli paste, heat the oil over medium–low heat in a large saucepan. Add the crushed chilli, sliced onion, garlic, roasted chilli, lemongrass and lime leaves. Cook gently until softened and fragrant. Add coconut juice, palm sugar, turmeric powder and garam masala. Continue cooking over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes until lightly caramelised. Add the fresh coconut meat and fish sauce, then season with salt to taste. Taste and adjust the balance – it should be sweet, hot and savoury. Set aside.
For the Asian herb salad, keep the skin on the green apple and cut it into fine julienne strips. Wash and pick the mint, coriander, Vietnamese mint, and Thai basil leaves. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lime juice..
To prepare the dish, mix the salmon with the chilli paste in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes. Place each salmon portion on a banana leaf, fold over to enclose and secure with a skewer or similar. Cook on a char-grill or in a preheated 180°C oven for 10 minutes or until cooked through.
Serve with the salad and chilli peanut sambal.
As seen in spring 2025
