Chili Chicken Salad Recipe
 Anyone who has traveled through North-east
Thailand will have encountered this traditional dish, in which chicken is
coated in a hot and sharp chili sauce. This cuisine uses glutinous rice (a
short to medium grain rice) for the roasted ground rice. When preparing
the rice, put it in a frying pan and dry-roast until golden brown. Remove
and grind to a powder, using a mortar and pestle or a food processor. When
the rice is cold, store it in a glass jar in a cool, dry place.
Ingredients: (Serves 4-6)
450 g/1 lb minced (ground) chicken
1 lemon grass stalk, trimmed
3 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
4 fresh red chilies, seeded and chopped
60 ml/4 tablespoons lime juice
30 ml/2 tablespoon Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
15 ml/1 tablespoon roasted ground rice (see
above for preparation)
2 scallions (spring onions), chopped
30 ml/2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
(coriander) leaves
Thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves, mixed
salad leaves and fresh mint sprigs, to garnish
Method:
Heat a large non-stick frying pan. Add the
chicken and moisten with a little water. Stir constantly over a medium
heat for 7-10 minutes until it is cooked. While the chicken is cooking,
cut off the lower 5 cm/2 inches of the lemon grass stalk and chop finely.
Transfer the cooked chicken to a bowl and
add the chopped lemon grass, lime leaves, chilies, lime juice, fish sauce,
ground rice, scallions and cilantro leaves. Mix thoroughly.
Spoon the chicken mixture into a salad bowl.
Sprinkle sliced kaffir lime leaves over the top and garnish with salad
leaves and sprigs of mint.
Happy Cooking,
Carol |
