Asian Chicken Salad

By: Antony Worrall Thompson

Ingredients
    1 (about 1.5 kg) chicken
    4 spring onions, sliced
    3 coin-thick slices of ginger
    6 cloves garlic, peeled
    1 red chilli
    1 tbsp sea salt
    10 black peppercorns
    2 tbsp peanut or sesame oil

For the Asian salad:
    2 tbsp vegetable oil
    2 tsp finely chopped garlic
    1 tbsp finely chopped red chillies
    150 ml fresh lime juice, freshly squeezed
    2 tbsp fish sauce
    2 tbsp clear honey
    2 green papaya, peeled and cut into matchsticks
    3 tbsp chopped mint
    3 tbsp chopped coriander
    1 bunch spring onions, sliced
    1/2 celeriac
    50 g unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped
    black pepper

Method
First poach the chicken, Place the chicken in a saucepan large enough to take it but a tight fit. Add the spring onions, ginger, garlic, chilli, sea salt and peppercorns. Pour in enough water to cover the chicken.

Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes, turning the chicken over once during the cooking process. Cover the pan, remove from direct heat and leave the chicken in the liquor for 1 hour.

Remove the chicken, drain well and rub all over with the peanut or sesame oil. Allow to cool completely.

Once cool, slice the chicken. Remove about 450g of cooked chicken flesh, discarding skin and bones. Cut the poached chicken flesh into shreds.

To make the salad, blend together the vegetable oil, garlic, chilli, lime juice, nam pla and honey in a food processor until smooth.

Toss together the shredded chicken, green papaya, mint, coriander, spring onion, celeriac and peanuts. Toss with the blended dressing. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Serve.