Sesame, peanut and chicken salad
Serves 6
Poached chicken breasts
1 onion, roughly chopped several sprigs of thyme handful flatleaf parsley
10 or 12 black peppercorns
2 star anise
1kg skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Sesame peanut dressing
100g peanut butter
1⁄3 cup boiling water
2 Tbsp sesame oil
3 Tbsp soy sauce (I use Kikkoman)
1⁄3 cup Thai sweet chilli sauce
For the salad
350g shelled edamame beans, frozen, cooked according to packet directions
1 large red capsicum, deseeded and cut into small strips
2 spring onions, finely sliced
150g bean sprouts
1⁄2 telegraph cucumber, seeds scooped out, flesh diced
1⁄4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp garlic flavoured oil
2 tsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp lime juice
3⁄4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
Method
Buy the bestquality chicken you can afford and choose smaller chicken breasts rather than large.
Place onion, thyme, parsley, peppercorns and star anise into a large saucepan (a large pan is needed to accommodate all of the chicken pieces). Three quarters fill with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer briskly for 10 minutes, bring back to the boil and add the chicken breasts, put the lid on and remove the saucepan from the heat. Leave to ‘‘poach’’ for one hour. Lift the chicken from the poaching liquid and drain.
Cool in the fridge. Using 2 forks, pull the chicken apart, shredding it into bitesize pieces.
Method
While the chicken is poaching, make the dressing.
Place the peanut butter into a heatproof bowl and pour the boiling water over. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Then add the remaining ingredients and stir well to mix.
Put the shredded chicken into a bowl and pour the peanut dressing over the chicken. Toss lightly to coat the chicken.
Cover and refrigerate until needed. This can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead of time if convenient.
Method
In a large bowl combine the cooked edamame beans, capsicum, spring onions, bean sprouts, cucumber and mint.
In a small bowl stir together the sesame oil, garlic oil and soy sauce and toss through the salad. This can be done several hours before serving if convenient. Refrigerate until needed. Just prior to serving sprinkle the lime juice over the salad and toss gently to combine.
Then add the chicken in its peanut dressing and toss again until well mixed. Scatter the peanuts over the top
Spoon on to a large serving platter and garnish with fresh herbs.
If travelling, pack chicken and peanut dressing into a snap lock plastic container and the salad into another. Place these into a chilly bin with lots of ice packs. Pack a large bowl into which the chicken and the salad can be tossed together just prior to serving. Let everyone serve themselves.