The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BURMA SUPERSTAR CHICKEN SALAD
Myanmar (formerly Burma) is famous for its tea-leaf salad, plus many others that use leftovers (samosas, jerky, fried chicken).
From the cookbook of the popular San Francisco restaurant group Burma Superstar, this brightly flavored salad can be made from any kind of leftover cooked chicken. I could eat the entire recipe in one sitting.
½ yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 lime, halved
3 tablespoons canola oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly
sliced
About 2 cups cooked chicken, at
room temp
1 cup shredded cabbage and/or
romaine lettuce
½ cup thinly sliced cucumber 2 tablespoons seeded and minced
jalapeño
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped
cilantro
1 ½ tablespoons toasted
chickpea flour (see note) 1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
Put half of the sliced onion in a small bowl. Squeeze half a lime on top, and mix to coat.
In a wok or skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the remaining onion, lower heat to medium, and fry, stirring often, until the onion has evenly browned and turned crispy, about 10 minutes.
Lift out onion with a slotted spoon, and place in a large mixing bowl.
Add the sliced garlic to the oil and fry until crisp and brown on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. When cool, chop roughly or crush between your fingers, and set aside.
Pour the frying oil into the bowl with the onion. Let the oil cool to room temperature.
Top with the chicken, the cabbage and/or lettuce, cucumbers, jalapeño, cilantro and chickpea flour. Add the fish sauce, salt and reserved raw onion and lime juice. Using your hands, mix well. Taste adding more fish sauce, lime juice or salt to taste.
Transfer to a salad bowl and sprinkle fried garlic on top. Serves: 2 or 4 as a side dish.
To toast chickpea flour: Spread ¼ cup flour in a skillet over medium heat. Toast, stirring often, until the flour has deepened to a light caramel color, about 5-8 minutes. — Adapted from “Burma Superstar: Addictive Recipes from the Crossroads of Southeast Asia” by Desmond Tan and Kate Leahy (Tenspeed, $29.99)
Per serving, based on 2: 486 calories (percent of calories from fat, 51), 46 grams protein, 14 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 27 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 119 milligrams cholesterol, 626 milligrams sodium.