Cucumber, Asparagus and Prawn Salad on Black Rice

Thai black rice not only looks amazing but has a delicious nutty flavour. If you can’t find it, you can use your favourite rice and adjust the cooking time according to pack instructions. The dressing is inspired by Vietnamese nuoc cham: sweet, hot, sour, tangy and garlicky all in one delicious mouthful.

 200g Thai black rice, see intro

 250g asparagus spears, woody ends snapped off

 1 large cucumber

 1tbsp pickled ginger, drained and roughly chopped

 150g cooked and peeled cold-water prawns

 4 slim spring onions, finely sliced

 Handful coriander leaves

FOR THE DRESSING

 2tbsp palm or caster sugar

 3tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

 4tbsp fish sauce

 1 large garlic clove, crushed

 1-2 red bird’s-eye chillies, to taste, finely chopped

 1tbsp vegetable oil

1 In a medium pan (that has a lid), cover rice with 600ml cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stir once then cover and simmer gently for 25min, or until tender. Drain and rinse briefly under cold water to stop it cooking (you don’t want it to become too cold).

2 Meanwhile, in a separate pan, cook the asparagus in boiling salted water for 2min, or until just tender. Drain and rinse briefly under cold water to stop the cooking. Pat dry with kitchen paper, then slice the stalks into rough 1cm pieces, leaving the top 4cm of the tips intact. Put into a large bowl.

3 Trim cucumber and halve lengthways. Using a teaspoon, scrape out and discard the seedy core. Cut into 5mm slices and add to asparagus bowl.

4 For the dressing, in a small bowl, whisk the sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and 3tbsp just-boiled water until the sugar dissolves. Add the garlic, chilli (to taste) and oil and whisk to combine.

5 Empty the rice on to a platter, add 1/2 the dressing and all the pickled ginger. Gently mix. Pat the prawns dry with kitchen paper, then add to the asparagus bowl along with the spring onions, coriander leaves and remaining dressing. Toss to coat, then pile on top of the rice and serve. PER SERVING 294cals, 13g protein, 5g fat (1g saturates), 47g carbs (11g total sugars), 4g fibre