Cooking in
British Columbia
Thai · Bangkok
Pla Goong — Prawn Salad with Lemongrass / พล่ากุ้ง
Pla goong is a hot-sour-herby prawn salad — the prawns are cooked briefly (poached, grilled, or flash-fried) then dressed warm with a lime-lemongrass-chilli dressing and an abundance of fresh herbs. The dressing is more complex than standard yam: lemongrass is finely sliced raw and adds its citrus-camphor texture; shallots are thinly sliced; kaffir lime leaf chiffonade provides floral top notes; galangal julienne adds piney sharpness. The dish is essentially an aromatic herb salad with prawns as the protein vehicle rather than a prawn dish with herbs as garnish — the herb volume should visually dominate.
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Cook
I
The Market List
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600 g
whole prawns, shell-on
shell-on for cooking; peel immediately before dressing
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the dressing
2 stalks
lemongrass
tender inner stalk only, sliced to 1 mm rings
Origin · ThailandChoose your town to see who stocks it →
4
shallots
thinly sliced
Your own market
6
kaffir lime leaves
central rib removed, chiffonade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 g
60 ml
lime juice
freshly squeezed
Your own market
2 tbsp
fish sauce
Your own market
3–5
fresh red or green chillies
thinly sliced
Your own market
1 tbsp
nam prik pao (roasted chilli paste)
optional; adds smoky complexity
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the herbs
25 g
fresh mint leaves
picked
Your own market
20 g
sawtooth coriander (pak chi farang)
sliced across the leaf
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For poaching
500 ml
light stock or water
brought to just below a simmer
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Bring the stock or water to just below a simmer — small bubbles should rise without breaking the surface — so the prawns poach gently and the flesh firms evenly rather than seizing and toughening at the edges. Add the shell-on prawns and poach for 90 seconds exactly. The prawns are done when the shells are fully pink and the flesh has just turned opaque at the thickest point, with no grey translucency remaining; remove them immediately and peel while still hot.
2
While the prawns poach, combine the lime juice, fish sauce, and nam prik pao in a mixing bowl large enough to hold the finished salad, stirring until the paste is fully dissolved so its smokiness and sweetness spread evenly through the dressing rather than sitting in pockets. Taste: the dressing must be simultaneously sharp, salty, and hot — adjust lime or fish sauce accordingly.
From the canon — Fish sauce — nam pla — is the universal salt of the Thai kitchen. Fish Sauce (Nam Pla): Selection and Use →
3
Add the lemongrass rings, shallots, kaffir lime chiffonade, galangal julienne, and sliced chillies to the dressing. This is where the dish lives or dies: add the peeled prawns within one minute of peeling and toss immediately, so their residual heat briefly opens the raw aromatics and drives the citrus-camphor and floral notes into the dressing without cooking them flat.
4
Add the mint leaves and sawtooth coriander, then toss once more, gently, so the herbs stay whole and upright rather than bruising and collapsing under their own moisture. The finished salad should appear more herb than prawn — the green volume of the herbs must visually dominate the bowl.
5
Transfer immediately to a serving plate and serve at once. The salad holds its texture and warmth for no more than a few minutes before the herbs wilt and the prawns cool past the point of integration.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Live or day-boat shell-on prawns of a single large species; hand-squeezed lime used within the hour; young lemongrass stalks harvested with the outer sheath still moist and fragrant; nam prik pao made in-house from charred dried chillies and shrimp paste.
02
Estate — Fresh shell-on prawns from a reputable fishmonger, chilled not frozen; lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves from a specialist Asian grocer; good-quality commercial nam prik pao with a clean, smoky character.
03
Market — Thawed shell-on prawns of reliable provenance; supermarket lemongrass — inspect the cut end for freshness; lime juice squeezed to order; standard fish sauce.
04
House — Peeled ready-to-cook prawns tolerated only if cooked with absolute timing care; dried kaffir lime leaf acceptable in the dressing provided fresh mint and sawtooth coriander compensate; bottled lime juice is a significant compromise to the dressing's brightness.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. Prawn shells have turned uniformly pink and flesh is opaque to the thickest part — no grey translucency remains; the prawn body lies in a gentle C-curve, not a tight O, indicating it is just-cooked rather than over-cooked.
◇Smell. When the warm prawns meet the dressing, a sharp citrus-camphor bloom rises from the bowl — the lemongrass and kaffir lime aromatics should be immediately perceptible at arm's length.
◇Sight. On the finished plate, the volume of fresh herbs visually dominates; if the prawns are the most prominent element by mass and colour, the herb quantity is insufficient.
◇Touch. A prawn pressed lightly between two fingers yields with slight resistance and springs back — firm but not rubbery; if it compresses without resistance the poaching water was too hot or the time too long.
◇Where it lives or dies. The prawns must enter the dressing while still hot from the pot — this brief warmth opens the raw aromatics into the dressing without cooking them flat; cold prawns produce a dish of separate, unintegrated parts.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Sake
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