Fish Sausage Salad

Contributed by: Maciej Karkowski

Ingredients

Sausage:

• 16 ounces boneless rock fish (will work with any fish), chilled and cubed in 1/2 inch chunks (ok to keep skin on as long as scales were removed)

• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped/minced shallots

• 1 table spoon chopped lemon grass

• 5-6 fresh Thai chilies (red, green, yellow) - chopped

• 1 table spoon of fresh ginger - chopped

• 4 cloves of fresh garlic - chopped

• 2 tablespoons plain dry breadcrumbs

• 2  egg whites

• 1 large egg

• olive oil

• Ocean water to poach sausages

Salad:

• 3 Carrots - orange, yellow and purple.

• 1 English cucumber 

Vinaigrette:

• 4 tablespoons water

• 2 limes, juiced

• 1 teaspoon of brown sugar or honey

• 2 finely chopped Thai chilies  

• 1 green onion finely chopped

• 2 cloves of fresh garlic - pressed

• 1 tablespoon of fish sauce

METHOD
Put all coarsely chopped shallots, chilies, lemon grass, garlic, ginger in a mortar and smash with pestle but avoid making a paste. Transfer to mixing bowl. Add the fish to the mortar and smash, leaving some chunks and crating some finer fish paste like texture that will bind all ingredients once mixed with eggs and bread crumbs.

Add smashed fish to the previously smashed shallots, chilies, lemon grass, garlic, ginger in the mixing bowl. Add eggs and bread crumbs. Mix well. After mixing, continue to work it little longer to make sure it becomes sausage like texture and all ingredients hold together. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill on crushed ice to firm it up a little. Transfer 1/4 of the sausage mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into a log with dampened fingertips. Roll in the plastic, twisting the ends to seal - tighten up with piece of twine. Lay the log onto a piece of aluminum foil and roll it up. Twist the ends in opposite directions, but not too tightly. Fold the ends back. Repeat with the remaining sausage mixture. Bring a pot of ocean water to a simmer. Add the sausages and submerge them with a plate. Cover pot and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Transfer sausages into a bowl of cold water with ice to stop the cooking process. Let cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove alum foil but leave sausage in the tight plastic wrap. Chill again inside crushed ice so it does not crumble during next step of slicing them up.

Peel foil off of the sausages over a piece of paper towel. Snip off 1 end of the plastic wrap and squeeze the sausage out through the opening. Trim off any unsightly chunks. Cut with very sharp knife diagonally into 3/8 slices. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Cook the sausage slices, gently turning them until browned all over, 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the sausages reads 140 degrees F (60 degrees C), 5 to 6 minutes more. 

Vinaigrette - combine water all ingredients into bowl and stir.

Salad - peel carrots and cucumber - cut using green papaya cutter. Add vinaigrette.

Arrange sausages on salad - drizzle with additional vinaigrette. - Serve