Thai crab fritters

MAKES 16

60g thin French beans, thinly sliced

100g spinach or morning glory 2 garlic cloves, finely grated 2cm piece galangal, finely grated

25g Thai basil, chopped

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

4 kaffir lime leaves, shredded and finely chopped 2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed and finely chopped

6tbsp ground peanuts

6 egg whites pinch cream of tartar

250ml sunflower oil

For the pickle

100ml rice wine vinegar

2tbsp caster sugar

5cm cucumber, peeled in strips, deseeded and chopped

1 small carrot, peeled, thinly sliced and chopped

3 Thai shallots, thinly sliced 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

1tbsp crushed peanuts

To serve

sweet chilli sauce pandan or banana leaves To make the sweet fresh pickle, put the vinegar and sugar in a small pan and heat for a few minutes to dissolve the sugar.

Boil fast for 2 minutes, until syrupy. Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool. Add the rest of the ingredients and chill until 15 minutes before serving. Remove any thick stems from the spinach or morning glory and blanch in boiling salted water for 1 minute. Drain, then refresh under cold water. Squeeze excess water out and arrange on a clean tea towel to dry for 5 minutes. When dry, chop roughly and transfer to a bowl. Add the garlic, galangal, basil, chilli, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass, mixing as you go. Fold in the ground peanuts and a pinch of pepper.

Whisk the whites until they hold a firm peak when the beaters are lifted. Fold into the mixture gently and evenly. Don't worry if it loses some volume at this point.

Heat the oil in a wide, deepish pan. Roughly collect a spoonful of the mixture at a time – you need 16 scoops – not too large and not too perfect, and put on a plate. Fry around 4 at a time for around 2 minutes per side until beautifully golden. (Recycle the oil by straining through a metal sieve and, when cool, transfer to a screw-top jar to use again.)

Transfer to a baking tray lined with kitchen paper and keep them warm in the oven at a low heat until they are all cooked.

Serve on pandan or banana leaves along with the fresh pickle and the sweet chilli sauce.