Lemongrass fish salad with chilli and lime

Using finely chopped, grilled chicken breast with shredded banana flower, instead of fish, is a Luang Prabang variation. As is minced beef (buffalo), like tartare, with the addition of fennel seeds and galangal, which in true Laos spirit would come under the hammer of the pestle and be pulverized to something sticky-pasty. The locals would eat this with slices of cucumber and sticky rice - and sometimes lettuce leaves, for wrapping up mouthfuls. Crispy shallots or spring onions can be bough