Phuket Recipes: Learn to Cook from Phuket Restaurants

Features : September 2010

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Miso-lemongrass Crusted Salmon, Rice Paper Mango Salad and Scallion Oil

Main ingredients

270 gm salmon (sliced into even cubes − 3 per portion)
8 gm keta (salmon caviar)
2 ml olive oil
Micro-cress salad

Miso cream

20 ml miso paste
100 ml whipping cream

Bring cream to the boil and mix in the miso paste. Leave to cool.

Mango sauce

80 gm mangoes
20 ml white wine
4 gm sugar
2 ml lime juice

Mix all ingredients and liquidize. Pass through a fine sieve.

Miso, lemongrass and crispy prawn crust

25 gm miso paste
5 gm lemongrass
20 gm deep-fried dried prawns
2 gm kaffir lime leaf
20 ml groundnut oil
60 ml water

Chop the prawns and slice the lemongrass finely. Mix with the rest of the ingredients and blend to form a smooth paste. Use this to marinate the salmon for four hours before frying.

Mango salad and rice paper roll

40 gm avocado, finely diced
80 gm ripe mango
2 gm spring onions
1 gm red chilli
220 ml lime skin and juice
3 ml olive oil
1 gm chopped chives
2 gm chopped coriander
Salt
4 pieces rice paper

Slice the avocado and mango into small cubes and add the rest of the ingredients. Soak the rice paper in a warm water to soften, and pat dry with a clean cloth. Lay flat, and spread with the mango salsa to make flat rolls.

Scallion oil

20 gm of green onion leaves
1 ml extra virgin olive oil
5 gm Madras curry powder
Salt

Heat the oil and add the sliced green onion leaves, curry powder and a pinch of salt. Liquidize and wrap in a muslin cloth. Leave to strain overnight.

To assemble the dish, put the mango rolls in the middle of the plate, paint the miso sauce in straight lines on both sides and arrange the keta caviar at both ends. Put the fried salmon on top of the rolls. Sprinkle with mango sauce, scallion oil and micro-cress salad. Garnish with fried lemongrass and julienne of spring onion.

About Master Chef Ronnie Macuja

Ronnie graduated from a marine engineering course back in the Philippines and found himself working in a hotel a few months later, almost by accident. Even now he finds it hard to believe. Manila Hilton International then offered him a two-year apprenticeship programme followed by exams which he passed with flying colours. He then became part of a team that, two years running, won top prizes in culinary competitions against teams from other international hotels. He was then offered the post of a commis chef with the Hyatt Regency in Auckland, New Zealand. From there he rose to be the Chef de Cuisine at the Top of the Town restaurant: the hotel’s famous fine dining restaurant.

Ronnie is known for his inventiveness in preparing seemingly ‘simple’ dishes in a completely original way. Khun Wallee Pachantabutr sampled one of his culinary creations in New Zealand and invited him, on the spot, to come to Phuket and work as a chef in her resort. He managed Salabua for ten years, and transformed it into one of the best dining experiences on the island. His innovative cuisine has earned him well-deserved accolades from the culinary press.

As with most true chefs, Ronnie is the essence of humility and courtesy. He's so dedicated to his art that he spends hours a day in the kitchen creating new dishes. He also spends time training new employees, using a 'hands on' approach, to ensure that his staff achieve his sky-high standards of innovation and creativity. After spending many years at Salabua, he’s now found a new home in Chalong Bay. With the help of the Pachantabutr family he’s opened a very exciting restaurant called Vset which means ‘Extraordinary’ in Thai.

For more information contact:
Vset restaurant
Tel: +66 (0)76 381159, +66 (0)87 622 9703
Email: info@vsetrestaurant.com