Oysters with strawberry gum coconut sauce

Masterchef winner Nat Thaipun gets creative and takes inspiration from her Thai and Australian background with an oyster dressing inspired by the famous Thai tom kha soup and a sprinkling of strawberry gum, a native Australian leaf with a sweet, berry-like aroma. Finish with a dramatic flair of ruby red finger lime pearls over the top!

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Series. Cooking. Rated PG.

Stream free On Demand

The Cook Up with Adam Liaw

series • CookingPG

Ingredients

• 12 oysters, shucked
• Finger limes, to serve

For the strawberry gum coconut sauce

• 400 ml coconut water
• 1 lemongrass stalk, bruised, roughly chopped
• 3 galangal slices
• 1 lime, juiced and finely zested
• 100 ml coconut milk
• 1 tsp palm sugar, to taste
• ¼ tsp fine salt, to taste
• ⅔ tsp native strawberry gum powder, sifted

For the makrut lime oil

• 25 g makrut lime leaves, spine removed
• 50 ml vegetable oil

Resting time: 30 minutes; Chilling time: 3 hours

Instructions

1. To make the makrut lime leaf oil, bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. Blanch the leaves in boiling water for a few seconds, then remove to an ice bath and chill. Dry the leaves well on both sides, then combine with the oil in a high-speed blender and blitz until smooth. Pass through a fine mesh sieve lined with an oil filter paper into a bowl set over ice water. Set aside.
2. To make the strawberry gum coconut sauce, combine the ingredients (except the strawberry gum powder) in a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat – do not boil. Remove from the heat, then cover and allow to steep for 30 minutes. Strain with a fine mesh strainer and allow to cool to room temperature, stirring until fully combined. Taste – it should be aromatic, slightly tart, savoury and sweet, adjust to your liking. Whisk in the strawberry gum powder until dissolved, then chill for 2-3 hours.
3. To serve, whisk the strawberry gum coconut sauce to recombine. Add 1-1 ½ tsp to each oyster, then sprinkle with finger lime pearls. Drizzle with a little makrut lime leaf oil and serve.

Want more from The Cook Up? Stream all the seasons here and for free at SBS On Demand.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.