Spicy Zespri Kiwifruit, Glass noodle and Chicken Salad

Incorporating fruits in salad adds a little more colour and vibrant to what may seem like an ordinary plate of greens. One of my favourite is adding grapes into cold pasta salad, adding grated apples to coleslaw and orange segments to mesclun mix, or the common som tham, thai young papaya salad..

So adding kiwi into a glass noodle salad, is another smart idea by Chef Rohani Jelani of Bayan Indah.

When I knew I was going to make this in the cooking class, I cant help but to jump in delight (inside me, yipppeee) It seems quite similar to the thai kerabu salad by cutting the vegetables into julienne and tossing with a sweet and spicy dressing. So yes, there are quite a number of things to julienne here, but its not too difficult.

Im pretty sure I was cutting something (cause I just did that 80% of the time) but how come the board looks empty. Hahaha

Anyway look at the prop room behind!! endless white bowls, plates, cake stands and tablewares! *envious* Ok back to the recipe

Spicy Zespri Kiwifruit, Glass noodle and Chicken Salad

(recipe by Chef Rohani Jelani)

Serves 6

3 Zespri Green Kiwifruit (peeled, quatered lengthwise & sliced 1cm thick)
20g glass noodles, blanced for 1 minute and drained
1 cucumber (200g), peeled, seeded and shredded
1 small carrot (100g), finely shredded
1 small onion (60g), half lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 torch ginger bud, finely sliced
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
2 cm young ginger, finely sliced
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup coriander leaves
1 red chilli, deseed and thinly sliced.

Dressing:
3 tbsp calamansi lime juice
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp sugar2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-2 red bird chillies, thinly sliced
Chicken:
2 tbsp oil
200g skinned chicken breast
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Topping
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
40g cashews, lightly toasted

Rohani Jelani shows how to julienne cucumber

Method:

1. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl, stir well until sugar dissolves. Set aside.
2. Thinly slice chicken breast across the crain. Season with black pepper. I! n a wok or frying pan, heat oil and sear chicken slices quickly until firm (2-3 minutes). Take pan off heat and transfer chicken into a small bowl. Drizzle about 2 tbsp of the salad dressing. Set aside to cool.

3. Julienne (cut into strips) cucumber, carrot, onion, ginger bud, and young ginger. Place in a large bowl. For kaffir lime leaves, roll tightly and chiffonade them.
4. Place sliced kiwifruit, mint and coriander leaves with other salad ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
5. To serve, add marinated chicken to prepared ingredeitns and all the remaining dressing. Toss lightly to combine. Transfer salad into serving plate (without the juice). Sprinkle sesame seeds and cashew nut and serve immediately.

When I first added the garlic into the dressing, I thought, sei lo.. so much garlic ah ?? But well, I was wrong. Everything balanced out pretty well and the flavours harmonized each other without anything overpowering. And you see the green bin in the picture above, its compost bin for any fruit and vege scraps. I thought its a good idea for any cooking school to do that, so people can start doing at home for natural organic compost. Good fertilizer for your plants.. Maybe also thats why the herbs are growing faster than Im using them. Oh well, I dont cook that often anyway. I wonder if my sage or basil or rosemary has overgrown into shrubsLOL!

Take the chicken out and maybe look for a vegetarian version of fi! sh sauce , you can turn this into a healthy vegetarian dish!

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