Coconut, Lime, And Lemongrass Chicken Salad

Coconut, Lime, And Lemongrass Chicken Salad
3 (5 ratings)
In keeping with many Thai dishes, the citrus notes in this salad are sweet and fragrant, with most of the bite coming from the ginger and chilli. — Catherine Phipps, author of Citrus If you love coconut, click here to try Tommy ’s Famous Coconut Shrimp
Servings
4
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 6 boneless chicken thighs or 4 breasts, skin on
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
  • 2 thin slices of fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped
  • 3 lemongrass stalks, outer leaves discarded, finely chopped
  • one 400-milliliter tin (1 3/4 cups) coconut milk
  • finely grated zest and juice of 2 limes
  • 2 makrut lime leaves, shredded (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • sea salt and crushed white peppercorns
  • handfuls of mint, coriander (cilantro) and basil, to serve
  • 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 shallots, finely sliced
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
  • 1 large courgette (zucchini), julienned
  • 1 1/3 cup cauliflower florets, finely sliced
  • a small bunch of radishes, finely sliced
  • a bunch of spring onions (scallions), finely sliced on the diagonal
  • a small piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1 red chilli, finely chopped
  • finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
Directions
  1. First prepare the chicken.
  2. Heat the coconut oil in a large, shallow pan and add the chicken, skin side down.
  3. Fry on a medium to high heat until the skin is crisp and brown, then turn over.
  4. Add the garlic, ginger, and lemongrass, then pour the coconut milk around the chicken.
  5. Add the lime zest and juice, the lime leaves, if using, and the peppercorns, and season with the fish sauce and some salt.
  6. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer, uncovered so the sauce reduces, until the chicken is cooked through, around 15 minutes.
  7. Remove the chicken.
  8. Strain the sauce and reserve.
  9. To assemble the salad, heat the vegetable oil in a small pan and fry the shallots quite briskly until they are translucent and well browned.
  10. Remove to drain on some kitchen paper and set aside.
  11. Arrange the raw vegetables over a large plate or platter.
  12. Slice or shred the chicken, skin included, and add to the vegetables.
  13. Whisk all the dressing ingredients together with 4 tablespoons of the reserved cooking sauce, and pour over the salad.
  14. Sprinkle with the herbs and the fried shallots.