Coconut chicken salad with watercress
This is just the freshest, loveliest salad. Watercress is one green I love to use whenever I can. It’s loaded with folate, iodine, calcium, iron, vitamin C and vitamin A – when you compare it to the humble iceberg lettuce, it’s in another league nutritionally, so grab some whenever you see it on a shopping trip!
Ingredients
4 small chicken breast fillets
400 ml tin light coconut cream (or water)
1 cup (250 ml) chicken stock
3 cm piece ginger, thinly sliced
1 stick lemongrass, bruised
2 kaffir lime leaves
2 red chillies, chopped
1 tbs fish sauce (gluten-free if needed)
2 Lebanese cucumber, halved lengthways, sliced
1 bunch watercress sprigs
1 cup mixed salad leaves
4 radishes, thinly sliced
1 avocado, sliced
Handful coriander leaves, roughly torn
Lime cheeks, to serve
Toasted sesame seeds, to serve
Red chilli, sliced, to serve
Sesame Dressing
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp fish sauce (gluten-free if needed)
1 tbs lime juice, plus extra to taste
Method
Place chicken breast in a medium frying pan. Add coconut cream/water to cover. Add ginger, lemon grass, lime leaves and chillies. Bring to almost boiling, reduce heat, simmer gently for 15 minutes or until chicken is tender and just cooked through. Remove from heat, add fish sauce. Leave chicken to cool in liquid.
Meanwhile, to prepare dressing, mix together all dressing ingredients in a bowl or jar until well combined.
Shred chicken. Divide between serving plates with cucumber, watercress, salad leaves, radishes and avocado. Scatter with coriander. Drizzle over dressing and serve with lime wedges.
