Bang Bang Chicken

Ignore the image (if you can)…  This is a great easy summer dinner which takes poached chicken salad to a whole new level.  The recipe I use is from SBS Food, but there are more than a few different versions out there.  I remember reading that this is a traditional Chinese street food snack and the name comes from the sound of the cooked chicken being flattened and chopped on boards.  Use a variety of salad veg – tomatoes, radishes, snow peas, corn, spinach, mushrooms, are all good and whatever else you can think of.  We don’t bother with the rice, but it would definitely be more filling that way – glass noodles would probably be good too.  As usual, I leave the chilli out of the sauce for the boy and we drizzle over good ole Sriracha at the table.  The sauce is absolutely delicious (I always make1½ times the recipe) and the numbing sensation of the Sichuan peppers totally addictive.

Ingredients

(about 2) chicken breast fillets, trimmed

1 Lebanese cucumber

1 carrot, cut into julienne or matchsticks

½ iceberg lettuce, shredded

2 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal

chilli oil sauce or straight chilli sauce

steamed rice, to serve

Sesame sauce:

1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns

2 tbsp white sugar

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar (chinkiang) or rice wine vinegar

70 g (¼ cup) sesame paste or tahini

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp chilli oil sauce

Method

Place chicken in a pan with enough water to cover.  Bring to the boil, cover, then remove from heat and stand for 20- 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Transfer chicken to a plate and cool. Using the flat side of a knife, press to flatten slightly.  Using your fingers, shred chicken.  Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Meanwhile, cut cucumber in half lengthwise and discard seeds.  Slice on the diagonal, then place in a colander, toss with ½ tsp salt and stand for 10 minutes.  Drain and gently squeeze out excess moisture.  Set aside.

To make sesame sauce, toast peppercorns in a frying pan over low heat for 1 minute or until fragrant; take care not to let them burn.  Using a mortar and pestle, grind to a powder.  Whisk together sugar, soy and vinegar.  Stir in remaining ingredients and the ground peppercorns.

Combine cucumber, carrot, lettuce and spring onions in a bowl.  Place on a platter, top with chicken and drizzle with sesame sauce. Serve with chilli oil sauce and rice.

Serves 4 (or 2 greedy people)