Super Secret Online Cooking Society !

- 600 ml vegetable oil
- 4 bream fillets, each cut into 5 - 6 pieces across
the fillet
- handful of plain flour
- 300g straight-to-wok or precooked rice noodles
- 4 medium tomatoes, cut into 8 wedges
- 4 spring onions, thinly sliced on an angle
- 1/2 medium cucumber, halve lengthways,
deseeded and thinly sliced
- 1 banana shallot, thinly sliced into rings
- 2 little gem lettuces, cut into 8 wedges
- 3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh coriander
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped basil
- 10 mint leaves, roughly chopped

Dressing:
- 1/2 lemongrass stalk, very thinly sliced into
rings
- 10g (or more) fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 - 2 red bird's eye chillies, roughly chopped,
seeds and all
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
- juice of 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar

1) Firstly, make the dressing. Grind and pound lemongrass, ginger, garlic and chillies in a pestle and mortar until they form a coarse paste. Add fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and stir well. Have a taste and redress if you feel the need.

2) Heat oil in pan until it's about 175 degrees C. Toss pieces of fish in flour and shake of excess. Lower fish into pan using slotted spoon, allow to cook for 3 - 4 minutes until it's a little crusty and pale golden on outside. Lay on kitchen paper.

3) Mix hot fish with remaining ingredients and serve as quickly as possible: place noodles in large serving bowl. Add tomatoes, spring onion, cucumber, shallot, lettuce, coriander, basil and mint. Place fish on top. Pour half the dressing and very gently turn everything over to mix. Do not break up fish !

4) Serve in bowls with remaining dressing for people to add as they wish.