Fresh, tasty, cool. Fuss-free food for when it’s too hot to be in the kitchen, but you still want to eat something tasty. The chicken is poached in coconut milk and lemon grass, tossed together with some Hokkien (or udon. or spaghetti), fresh veggies and coriander, and then topped off with a zesty dressing. Super healthy. You’ll love it.
Believe me, it’s hot here right now.
It’s averaging around 26C, but the humidity is intense. The air is like soup, your body is sticky and you constantly feel like you have a wee bit of a hangover.
It’s not too bad when there’s a breeze going, but when there’s a light drizzle, the clouds are heavy and grey and the air is stagnant it’s almost unbearable. I’ve got the windows pushed right open, but you’d swear they were screwed shut for the amount of air flow that’s moving through. Give me a dry 35C over a humid 25C any day.
In other news, Emma and I are going to America in June. Hitting the big smoke. We’ll be travelling around California and heading over to Vegas for a couple of days – it’ll be our winter university break come June, so it’ll be fantastic to escape the horrible cold. At this stage we’re turning a blind eye to the fact that we may be heading into unbearable heat. Let’s just not think about that.
So it’ll be another chance for my to chow down on fish tacos and pumpkin pie, buttermilk pancakes and exciting candy. For me to hit up Urban Outfitters, to go to the amazing zoos and Disneyland and Denny’s. The latter being an unexpected highlight from my time in America previously. We have Denny’s here, but it’s pretty dingy and dirty and has nothing like Fit Slams for breakfast.
Anyway, back on track. This is easy, super healthy, super tasty. Just make it.
Coconut Chicken and Noodle Salad
Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 15 mins + at least 1/2 hour cooling time
Dressing:
- 2 tbs lime juice
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tbs mirrin
- 2 tsp brown or palm sugar
- 1 tbs peanut oil
Salad:
- 1 400ml can coconut milk
- 1/2 can water
- Good shake of chilli flakes
- 1 lemongrass stalk, roughly chopped OR 1 tbs minced lemongrass OR 1sp lemon zest
- 2 large/3 smallish chicken breast fillets
- 150g hokkien noodles or similar
- 1/2 capsicum, chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
- a good handful snow peas, sliced
- a good portion of a telegraph cucumber, seeded and sliced
- a good handful chopped fresh coriander
In a small screw-top jar, combine all the dressing ingredients. Shake well, and set aside.
In a saucepan, combine the coconut milk, water, chilli flakes, lemongrass and chicken. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Allow the mixture to simmer for 8 minuets, then remove from the heat and allow to cool for at least half an hour. When you remove the chicken from the heat, it will not be cooked through: don’t panic, it will continue to cook in the warm coconut milk as it cools.
Once the chicken has cooled, discard the cooking liquid and thinly slice the chicken. Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, and be sure to refresh them in cold water to prevent them from sticking.
In a serving bowl, combine the chicken, noodles, capsicum, carrot, snow peas, cucumber, coriander and dressing. Get your hands in there and toss to combine.
