recipe: shrimp salad

What do you do when you're too lazy to go out on a weekend for brunch, and yet you're feeling a little peckish? I thought I would rummage in my fridge for something light that I could put together.

I had an odd assortment of ingredients - some salad leaves which were about to wilt. some frozen prawns, apples, lemons and some eggs. Thinking that an omelette was way to obvious an option, I thought I would make a salad, based on the cold seafood in mayonnaise which used to be served as an appetizer in Chinese restaurants.

While the prawns were thawing, I picked through the lettuce leaves for the few survivors and put them into a large dish. Then I separated an egg (reserving the white for a future use) and put the yolk in a bowl with some lemon juice. Quick whisking, with the addition of some mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper turned this into a quick home-made mayonnaise.

I poached the prawns in some salted boiling water, to which I added some Chinese rice wine for additional flavor (you can omit this). Once their shells turned red, I took them off the heat to drain and let them cool while I cubed a peeled apple. 

Dump all of that into the bowl on top of the lettuce leaves, and voila!