Ask a Chef reveals the secrets of those superb dishes you ate in cafes and restaurants and wanted to try yourself.
Nichol's satay chicken salad
For the salad
1 packet of instant flat egg noodles
1 bunch spring onions, sliced long
2 carrots, julienned
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets, blanched and refreshed, still firm to the bite
1 red pepper, finely sliced
1 red onion, finely sliced
1 packet snow pea shoots, chopped in half
1 packet of mung beans
white sesame seeds
black sesame seeds
½ a packet coriander
½ a packet mint
For the chicken
5 boneless chicken thighs, medium diced
1 knob of ginger
2 stalks lemongrass, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp ground turmeric
2 cloves garlic, peeled, sliced
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
¼ cup brown sugar
1½ tsp salt
¼ tsp dark soy
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp ground cumin
For the sauce
5 long red dried chillies soaked in boiling water until soft then drained
1 knob of ginger
1 stalk lemongrass, thinly sliced (use pale part only and remove any dry outer layers)
2 cloves garlic, peeled, sliced
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
¼ cup canola oil
1 Tbsp tamarind paste (from a jar)
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt plus more to balance at very end
250ml water
2 tsp lime juice plus more to balance at very end
125g salted, roasted, crushed peanuts
Method
Cook noodles by covering with boiling water and letting them sit.
Prepare the vegetables.
Puree all the chicken ingredients except chicken. Mix through chicken and marinate for five hours, then cook on a hotplate or in a pan.
Puree the first six ingredients of the sauce.
Add to a pot and cook on low for a long time until it is a dark red colour, very little steam is coming out of the pot and the oils have split from the solids.
Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until the required thickness. Taste and adjust flavours.
To serve: chop herbs. Mix everything together except sauce and sesame seeds.
Layer the salad adding sauce at each layer and top with the sesame seeds.
Requested by Wendy Perry, of Alexandra.
This recipe comes from Nichol's Garden Cafe, in Cromwell.
• If you have enjoyed a dish in an Otago cafe or restaurant and would like the recipe, write to Ask a Chef, Features, Otago Daily Times, PO Box 181, Dunedin, fax 474-7422, or email odt.features@odt.co.nz, including your name, address and a daytime telephone number, and we will request it.
