Beef kebabs with Asian chilli sauce

To make the sauce, put palm sugar and lime juice in a dish and stir to dissolve sugar. Add chillies, garlic, ginger, fish sauce and coriander.

Remove excess fat and any sinew from meat. Cut into small cubes and thread onto short skewers. Flatten meat slightly so it will touch the grill plate evenly when kebabs are cooked, and put them into a shallow dish. Pour over oil and grind over a little black pepper, then turn kebabs to coat the meat evenly. If not ready to cook, cover and refrigerate, but bring to room temperature before cooking.

Cook kebabs on a preheated oiled barbecue hotplate over high heat for 3–5 minutes a side, until browned. Don’t overcrowd the hotplate – cook kebabs in batches if they don’t fit without touching – and don’t overcook or they will be dry to eat. Alternatively, heat a ridged grillpan over a high heat and cook in batches. Transfer kebabs to a plate as they are done, immediately sprinkle with a little sea salt and spoon over chilli sauce. Garnish with lime wedges and serve hottish as a nibble or as a meal with salad.

To make the salad, peel onion, cut in half then into slivers. Soak in icy cold water for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Halve, quarter and core tomatoes. Slice cucumber thinly (peel if preferred). Mix onion, cucumber, tomatoes and mint together in a bowl and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve with beef skewers and chilli sauce.