Serves 6  |  Prep time 25 minutes   |   Cook time 15–20 minutes

The combination of herby green chicken, fresh crunchy vegetables and creamy coconut dressing is irresistible in this salad. My kids loved it so much they went back for thirds!

Recipes, styling & photos Emma Boyd

 

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp tamari
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• ½ scant tsp peppercorns
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 stalk lemongrass, chopped
• 6 kaffir lime leaves, spines removed
• ¾ cup coriander
• ¼ cup mint
• 750 g chicken thighs

Salad

• ½ red onion (100 g), halved, thinly sliced
• ½ large cucumber (275 g), halved lengthways, sliced on the diagonal
• 2 cups mung bean sprouts
• 150 g rice noodles, cooked as per packet instructions
• 1 cup coriander, roughly chopped
• 1 cup mint, chopped
• 1 red chilli, halved lengthways, thinly sliced
• ¾ cup salted peanuts

Dressing

• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1½ tbsp fish sauce
• 5 tbsp lime juice
• 5 tbsp coconut cream

 

METHOD

Put all the ingredients for the chicken, except the chicken itself, into the jug of a stick blender and blitz until smooth. Pour this into a bowl. Add in the chicken thighs, mix well to coat all the pieces and leave while you prepare the salad ingredients.

Put the red onion, cucumber, sprouts, noodles, coriander and mint into a bowl and mix well.

Put the dressing ingredients into a jar, put on the lid and shake to combine.

Heat a BBQ or a griddle plate and cook the chicken pieces for 15–20 minutes or until charred and cooked through. Remove from the heat and leave to rest for a minute or so and then slice. Allow to cool a little before adding to the salad bowl and mixing again. Lastly scatter over the chilli and the peanuts and dress with the coconut dressing, then serve.