Thai-style Chicken Salad

by tara hook
(dunedin. new zealand)

Ingredients
250 g rice noodles
8 Macro Free Range chicken thighs, skinned & boned
cornflour for dusting
150 g green beans, trimmed and blanched for 3 minutes in boiling water, well drained and cooled
1 papaya peeled, seeded and sliced (fresh or canned pineapple, mangoes or melon are also good if papa
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
200 g cherry tomatoes
5 tbsp fish sauce
5 tbsp lime juice
4 tbsp finely grated palm sugar or brown sugar
1 large pinch chilli flakes
1/2 cup roasted peanuts, crushed or chopped
1/2 handful coriander sprigs
vegetable oil for frying
Serves 4-6

Method
Drop the noodles into a saucepan of boiling water. Bring back to the boil and boil for 4 minutes until al dente. Drain then rinse under cold water until cold, drain and place in a large salad bowl.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan over moderate heat. Dust the chicken with cornflour and panfry until golden and cooked through. Remove from the pan and rest, then halve each thigh across the grain of the meat.

Place chicken, papaya and beans on the noodles. Mix together onion, tomatoes, coriander, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and chilli in a bowl. Taste and adjust the sweet, salty, hot and sour flavours if necessary. Pour this over the salad, sprinkle with peanuts over dish and serve.

Tip:

After blanching refresh your beans in cold water with a few ice cubes. This helps keep the colour and crunch.