to make the sweet sour dressing, grind the chillies and garlic in a mortar or blender, adding a little of the plum sauce or tamarind juice to keep the blades turning. When finely ground, add the rest of the dressing ingredients and grind again. Set aside in a small bowl.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients and portion them onto 6 serving plates. Pour a little of the dressing over each serving and top with the fresh coriander leaves, crispy shallots, keropok and a generous helping of peanuts. Or serve the preparedingredients with the dressing on the side

Note: Different brands of chinese plum sauce vary in their sugar content, so adjust the dressing to suit your taste. To prepare Palm Sugar Syrup, bring half cup palm sugar shavings and half cup water to a boil. Add a pandanus leaf to the water, if desired. Then reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes or until the liquid thickens and becomes syrupy. Strain, discard the pandanus leaf if using, and set the syrup aside to chill. Some brands of palm sugar ar very hard and need to be chopped with a sharp knife before boiling