These prawn cakes are fabulous, but if prawns aren't your cup of tea, you can use 750g firm white fish or chicken breast fillet instead. And if you prefer a milder flavour, remove the seeds from the chilli before adding it.

STEP 1 Cut off the roots and 4cm from the stalks of the coriander. Set aside the leaves for the salad. Wash root and stalk section under cold running water to remove any grit. Pat dry with paper towel and chop coarsely. Put prawns in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add chopped coriander, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, chilli and garlic. Process until prawns are finely chopped and all ingredients are well combined. Transfer to a large bowl.

STEP 2 Line a medium bamboo steam basket with baking paper. Trim ends and outer layer from each stick of lemongrass. Divide prawn mixture into 8 portions. With wet hands, mould 1 portion of prawn mixture around a lemongrass stick, to form a 10cm-long sausage shape. Continue to make prawn cakes with remaining ingredients.

STEP 3 Put 3-4 prawn cakes in a single layer in the steam basket. Put steam basket over a large saucepan or wok of simmering water; cover. Steam for 8-10 minutes or until firm and cooked through. Transfer to a large plate. Cook remaining cakes. Put a chargrill pan over a high heat. Line pan with a sheet of baking paper - this will prevent cakes burning and sticking. Cook 3-4 at a time, for 1 minute on each side, until char lines appear. Transfer skewered cakes to a plate. Serve with Green papaya salad and dipping sauce.

STEP 4 To make Green papaya salad: Cut papaya in half and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Using a medium sharp knife, peel the skin from the papaya. Thinly slice papaya, cut slices into long strips, then finely dice. Put papaya in a bowl, add fish sauce, palm sugar and coriander. Toss to combine.

STEP 5 To make dipping sauce, combine juice, fish sauce, sugar and chilli in a bowl.

Cook's tips

For this recipe the roots of the coriander need to be intact. The roots and the lower 8cm of the stalk contain concentrated flavour. They're thicker than the upper stalks and leaves, and are the best parts to use if the food is to be cooked. Use the roots and stalks in the prawn cakes and reserve the leaves for the green papaya salad. Store any leftover leaves in a zip-lock plastic bag in the fridge.

You can use a small green chilli in place of the red.

You can use the same amount of light brown sugar in place of palm sugar.

The prawn cakes are best eaten within a couple of hours of cooking.