Apparently we’ve just had Easter. I’m not convinced.

I remember Thursday evening, then a blur. Something about Easter eggs and cooking all day on Sunday, then there I was, sat back at my desk, blinking bewilderedly. Was that it?

A long weekend of overindulgence however needs to be counteracted with something altogether healthier. The edamame bean ying to the half-pounder with cheese yang I guess.

Well this is something of the middle ground. I’ve made thai ‘style’ salads on here before and I make no apologies as they are brilliant. I had some left over pork from the weekends roast and used it along with some nice salty crayfish to make a super-light thai style salad of spinach leaves, rocket, peashoots, coarsely copped herbs, some nice sweet piccolo tomatoes and finely slice shallots.

The pairing of seafood and pork was something I first came across in the Lisbon (the delicious pork and clams speciality) and it worked nicely here. I fried the otherwise very lean pork in a pinch of 5 spice, and a little salt until really crisp.

I made the dressing, and that was about it. 10 minutes. I used chilli oil here but it was a little hot so you may want to tone it down with some peanut oil.

Lastly, it was only after we had finished, I though it would have been great with chopped peanuts, but, I didn’t have any. Next time then…

• Left over pork – about 120g/4oz, cut into thin batons
• 1 pinch of 5 spice and a pinch of salt
• 1 garlic clove
• 200g crayfish tails
• Mixed green salad leaves – I used spinach, rocket and peashoots. A couple of handfuls of each
• 8 small ripe tomatoes
• 3 shallots, sliced and separated into rings
• 1/2 red chilli
• 1 handful coriander – finely chop the stalks but leave the leaves (rolls off the tongue 😉 ) whole.
• About 6 basil leaves. Sliced thinly. Thai basil is better here, but I couldn’t get it.
• Dressing made from: 2 tbsp chilli oil, juice of half a lime, a dash of mirin (or a good pinch sugar/palm sugar), 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 thumb sized piece of ginger – grated finely.

Simply fry the pork with the salt and 5 spice until really crispy, only adding the garlic towards the end so as not to burn it.

Combine with the cray fish and set aside.

Plate up the larger salad leaves, shallots, chilli and tomatoes and layer on the pork/crayfish.

Put all the dressing ingredients in a shaker – by shaker I mean jam jar – and mix thoroughly. Taste it, adjust it if you see fit and spoon it over. Sprinkle with the herbs and that’s it –  job done.