Recipe | Crayfish & Mango Noodle Salad

I asked and you responded. You wanted it, so tonight, you’ve got it – I’m sharing the recipe for the gorgeously summery, fresh and tasty crayfish & mango salad (and hoping the weather brightens up again to do it justice).

A little secret – I love fruit and savoury combined and actually, fruit in a salad is so underrated. Whether it’s classic combos like grapes (or figs, or even watermelon, for that matter) with cheese, pear with pork or strawberries and blueberries with chicken (and lots of balsamic glaze) – I honestly can’t get enough. I’ve heard kiwi is meant to go well too… perhaps I’ll give it a whirl. Seafood and pineapple go quite nicely together, but the mango and crayfish here is a match made in heaven!

When you can’t really be bothered to cook and you don’t want the oven on as it’s too hot (who am I kidding, this is a British summer), this is a great option. This is a nutritious yet light dish, packed full of flavour and freshness, and I’m all for the vibrant colours. If you can handle the heat, feel free to throw a little extra chilli into the mix – it goes so well with the mango, too.

Crayfish & Mango Noodle Salad (serves 2)

Ingredients

• 100g folded rice noodles (I used Tiger Tiger rice stick noodles)
• 1 fresh chilli, finely chopped and deseeded if preferred (I used a pinch of crushed chilli flakes instead)
• 1 clove of fresh garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp brown sugar (I used demerara, which took a bit longer to dissolve)
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 100g crayfish tails (ready to eat)
• ½ mango, peeled and diced
• 100g mangetout, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp crispy onions

Method

• Cook the noodles according to the packet’s instructions. Once cooked, drain and rinse well with cold water.
• Meanwhile, make the dressing by combining the chilli, garlic, sugar, lime juice and fish sauce in a bowl. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
• Tip the noodles in the bowl with the dressing, along with the crayfish tails, mango and mangetout. Toss to combine.
• Plate up, scatter over the crispy onions… and enjoy!

The crispy onions are a definite gamechanger here and if I’m being honest, are one of my favourite things at the moment. They’re not only great in salads but are a great topper for pasta bakes – I made a dreamy crayfish mac & cheese the other week with crispy onions, and it was a huge hit. They’re also great on top of a stir-fry or even rice bowl (add them to your sushi with some teriyaki sauce and thank me later).

If you’re not a fan of seafood, I’m sure this would be just as tasty with chicken. Trust me – it’s summer in a bowl and so refreshing. I’ve already thought about making this again a few times (we just need the weather to match). And if you decide to make it, don’t forget to tag me in the photos and use the hashtag #LoveLucyRecipe.

Love, Lucy xx