This is a salad and sauce in one, and probably the easiest way to cook salmon ever. Massaging the salad in a bag re-creates the Thai technique of lightly pounding the vegetables in a large mortar. Even better, you can make the salad in the bag ahead of time and keep it in the fridge.

• 1 side of salmon, pinboned

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• salt, to season

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• 2 bird's-eye chillies, sliced

• 50ml lime juice

• 2 tsp caster sugar

• 1 tbsp fish sauce

• 4 Lebanese cucumbers, peeled, deseeded and julienned

• 2 carrots, peeled and julienned

• 1 cup green or snake beans, trimmed, cut into 5cm lengths

• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved

• 2 makrut lime leaves, vein removed and finely sliced

• ¼ cup crushed roasted peanuts

• ½ cup fried Asian shallots (available in the Asian section of supermarkets or from specialist grocery stores)

• 1 cup loosely packed coriander leaves

• 1 cup loosely packed Thai basil leaves

Heat your oven to 200°C. Place the salmon skin-side down on a piece of baking paper on a baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil, season with salt and bake for about 15 minutes, until the salmon is just cooked through.

For the som tam, combine the garlic, chilli, lime juice, sugar and fish sauce and stir to dissolve the sugar. Taste the dressing and adjust for seasoning. Place the cucumber, carrot, beans, tomatoes and lime leaves in a large press-seal bag and add the dressing. Squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible and seal tightly. Massage the bag strongly with your hands for a few minutes to crush the vegetables, release their juices, and mix them with the dressing. Remove the salmon from the oven and pour the contents of the bag over the top of the fish. Scatter with the peanuts, fried shallots and herbs.

Adam's tip A whole side of salmon looks very impressive when you're serving it, but it's very easy to cook. Just make sure to take out the pinbones with a pair of tweezers (or ask your fishmonger to do it). You don't even need to scale it. Just let the oven do all the work.

Taco dogs

Serves 6

If you want to turbocharge your summer barbecue, these tacostyle hot dogs are just the ticket. Make the pico de gallo and guacamole beforehand, so when it comes time to eat it's just a matter of throwing some sausages on a barbecue.

• 6 barbecue sausages (or hot dog frankfurters)

• 6 hot dog buns

• 12 butter lettuce leaves

• 1 cup shredded tasty cheese

• ½ cup sour cream

Pico de gallo

• 2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, finely diced

• ¼ cup finely shredded coriander

• 1 small red onion, very finely diced

• 2 bird's-eye chillies, finely sliced

• juice of 2 limes

• ½ tsp salt

Guacamole

• 2 avocados

• juice of 1 lime

• ½ small brown onion, very finely sliced

• ¼ cup finely shredded coriander

• ½ tsp salt

For the pico de gallo, combine all the ingredients and set aside for at least 10 minutes. For the guacamole, mash the avocados with a fork and combine with the remaining ingredients.

Grill the sausages on a barbecue hotplate (or pan-fry in a little oil) for about 10 minutes over low-medium heat, turning frequently. (If using hot dog frankfurters, cook according to the directions.) Split the buns in half lengthways, but not all the way through, then toast on a hot grill or frying pan. When toasted, place the lettuce leaves on the buns, put the sausages on top and scatter with cheese. Serve with the guacamole, pico de gallo and sour cream so people can add as they please.

This article appears in Sunday Life magazine within the Sun-Herald and the Sunday Age on sale December 16.