Go Back
Chicken Sesame Salad

Poached Coconut Chicken Sesame Salad

Basically this is Asian slaw on steroids. It's a filling dinner salad or lunch. When asked to bring a plate or pot luck dish.....this is the one. Don't skip the salting of the cabbage. It makes it limp and ready to soak up the dressing. Poaching chicken this way results in a juicy delicious chicken you can use for soups, noodles or salads
5 from 3 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Salad
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

Poaching the chicken

  • 400 ml coconut milk 1 can, or cream
  • 250 ml chicken stock 1 cup
  • 3 stalks green onion chopped
  • 5 slices ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic cut/ crushed
  • 2 stalks coriander roots and all
  • 40 ml fish sauce
  • 1 kg chicken breasts (about 6 even sized)

Dressing

  • 80 ml Sesame oil 4 Tablespoons / 1/4 cup
  • 80 ml rice vinegar 4 Tablespoons / 1/4 cup
  • 40 ml lime juice
  • 125 ml coconut poaching liquid 1/2 cup

Salad

  • 500 gm White cabbage 1/4 of a large cabbage
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup corn kernels uncooked, from 2 ears of corn
  • 1 bunch coriander stalks chopped leaves picked
  • 1/2 bunch shallots about 5 stalks sliced (green onion)
  • 1 bunch mint picked
  • 1/2 cup fried shallots Asian stores
  • 1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds

Instructions
 

Start with the poached chicken.

  • Add the coconut, chicken stock, fish sauce, green onions, ginger and garlic to a pot that has a fitting lid. Add the chicken breasts ( approximately 6 in a kg). Bring the pot up to a boil. When it starts to boil stir and put the lid on. Turn the heat off and don't lift the lid again for 15 minutes. The chicken should be perfectly poached
  • **Check the thickest piece. Make sure there are no pink left in the chicken. Reheat those pieces to make sure it is cooked.
  • Take the chicken out of the pot and put the poaching liquid and chicken in the fridge.

For the salad

  • Finely slice the cabbage. Mix the salt through it and set aside for at least 10 minutes to 1/2 an hour while you prepare the other ingredients.
  • Add the corn, sliced green onion, coriander and mint to the cabbage. Slice or tear the chicken into pieces and add that too. Add the fried shallots and 3/4 of the sesame seeds. Toss together.

To make the dressing

  • Add the sugar, vinegar, lime juice , sesame oil and 1/2 cup of poaching liquid and shake well.
  • Dress the salad and toss well.
  • Finish the salad with the extra seeds and some coriander.

Notes

Don't forget to toast the sesame seeds. You can do that by placing them on a tray and baking in a moderate oven (fan off) for 10 - 15 minutes or toss them in a dry frypan till they start to turn golden. Pour them straight out onto a dish and cool.