A collection of recipes we like to cook.

Chicken and coriander salad

Serves: 8
Source: The Age
Notes:
Fresh and permeated with the musky flavour of coriander, this salad is crisply fresh and one for those who love oriental flavours. The single chilli will make it quite spicy. You can adjust this according to your own taste but it needs to have a little heat for the flavours to balance each other. It serves four with some rice, or even a few noodles on the side.

Ingredients

Salad

  • 1 kg chicken thigh fillets
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 3/4 cup snow peas
  • 1/4 cup spring onions, cut into small pieces on the diagonal
  • 90 g bean shoots
  • 1/2 cup grated carrot
  • 1/2 cucumber, peeled
  • 1/2 cup coriander leaves, finely chopped
  • some lettuce leaves

Dressing

  • 1 small chilli, finely chopped with seeds removed
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 cup extra light olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water

Method

  1. Cook the chicken on the BBQ. Cut the chicken flesh into 1cm thick strips.
  2. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan and remove to some kitchen paper to drain.
  3. Steam or cook the snow peas for a couple of minutes and put them into a bowl with the spring onion.
  4. Pour boiling water over the bean shoots. Drain immediately and add to the snow peas together with the chicken and carrot. Cut the cucumber into halves lengthways and remove the seeds. Cut into thin slices and add along with the coriander.
  5. Mix the dressing into the salad.
  6. Refrigerate if not using immediately. You can store it covered for about four hours.
  7. Arrange some lettuce on a platter and spoon the salad in a mound on top.
  8. Scatter with the sesame seeds.

Dressing

  1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, except the water, and whisk well.
  2. Add the water last and stir through. It should be just fresh tasting but not too tart with lemon, so adjust with more sugar if necessary or add a little oil to reduce the lemon.
  3. This can be made two hours in advance. Be sure to store tightly sealed in the refrigerator as it is very pungent.