Thai seafood salad

Ingredients

50ml/2fl oz olive oil
900g/2lb squid, cleaned and cut into strips
900g/2lb monkfish fillet, sliced
20 scallop meats, cut in half
175ml/6fl oz water
120ml/4fl oz Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
juice of 4 limes
25ml/1fl oz sesame oil
a 1.5kg/3lb cooked lobster (optional)
450g/1lb peeled North Atlantic prawns
2 cucumbers, diced
3 sticks celery, diced
3 bunches spring onions, sliced
4 sticks lemon grass, finely sliced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
75g/3oz ginger, peeled and finely chopped
6 red chilles, seeded and finely chopped
8tbsp fresh coriander, roughly chopped
6 Kaffir lime leaves, very finely sliced (optional)
1 iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the squid in batches till it has turned brown and is beginning to take on colour. Use the same pan and oil to fry the monkfish. Again, do this in batches so that the fish fries and takes on some colour rather than sweats. Repeat the process with the scallops frying them for only about 1 minute. Set aside all the cooked seafood and leave to cool. De-glaze the frying pan with the water. Mix these pan juices with the fish sauce, lime juice and sesame oil in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Cut the lobster, if using, in half lengthways and remove the meat from the tail and claws. Pick out the meat from the head section. This is done in the same way as for the body section of a crab. Set the meat aside and discard the shells.
3. To make up the salad, gently turn over all the ingredients in a large salad bowl.