Ingredients:

1 lb beef tenderloin, grilled to medium rare and finely cubed.
soy sauce
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 green onion, finely chopped
5 Tbsp fish sauce
5 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp sugar
1 kaffir lime leaf, finely chopped
¼ tsp ground coriander seed
1 tsp ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp lemongrass, finely chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced crossways into 1” rounds

Put sliced beef in a bowl and sprinkle with enough soy sauce to moisten meat. Marinate for one hour. Mix in cilantro, tomato and green onion. Whisk together remaining ingredients except cucumber and strain through a sieve. Dress beef mixture with dressing to taste. Scoop out shallow cups in cucumber rounds using a melon baller and spoon meat mixture into cucumber cups.

Salmon on Jasmine Rice Cakes:
1 cup jasmine rice
1 ½ cups coconut milk
1 lb cured salmon filet (recipe follows)
cilantro oil (recipe follows)

Cook jasmine rice in coconut milk until tender and milk is absorbed. Cool down and roll firmly into a cylinder (a sushi mat works well for this). Slice into ½ “ rounds.
Place one thinly sliced piece of salmon on top of each rice cake and garnish with a bit of cilantro oil.

Cured Salmon:
1 lb skin-on salmon filet, rinsed, dryed and pin bones removed
2 Tbsp kosher salt

Rub flesh side of filet with the kosher salt, wrap in plastic wrap, place in a container large enough to hold the fish and refrigerate for 24 – 48 hours. Rinse off salt, pat dry and slice thinly across the grain, removing the skin in the process.

Cilantro Oil:
1 bunch cilantro, washed and tough stems removed
vegetable oil

Blanch cilantro in boiling water for a few seconds, remove and shock in ice water. Squeeze excess water from leaves and blend with approximately 1 cup warmed vegetable oil.

Bocconcini on Parmesan Shortbread with Tomatoes and Pesto:

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbsp sugar
½ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
¼ tsp black pepper
1 ¼ cups flour
bocconcini slices
cherry tomatoes, quartered
pesto oil
finely sliced basil

Preheat oven to 325. Line a cookie sheet with buttered foil. Beat all ingredients except flour in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until light and creamy, 3-4 minutes.
Add flour and continue to mix at lowest speed until smooth dough forms. Scrape dough onto a work surface and roll into a uniform 1 ½ inch diameter cylinder. Cut crosswise into ½ inch disks and arrange on foil. Pierce dough randomly with a floured fork. Bake 35 minutes or until firm. Let cool on a wire rack.
Arrange one bocconcini slice on top of each shortbread disk and place in a skillet. Place in a warm oven just long enough to soften the cheese. Top each disk with ¼ cherry tomato, a drizzle of pesto oil and some sliced basil. Arrange on a platter and garnish with thinly julienned green onion and a cherry tomato, if desired.