Recipe >Salad
Chicken, Lime, Peanut and Noodle Salad
I love this salad, I often have it after I've been to the gym, packed full of proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats its a perfect recipe for the tired body.

(If I'm feeling lazy I'll just use the one wok to cook everything in, this saves time on the washing.)
Hey! Are you in a rush? More often than not, me too. So if you need to save time, don't worry about marinating the chicken, (it's just an added option for more flavour) there's plenty of flavour in the dressing that will hide this shortcoming.

Don't worry if you can't get all the ingredients. It's a bonus if you can, as more flavours tend to add to a greater balance, but if you're short one or two ingredients don't worry the dish will still work.

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 x large chicken breasts

For the Marinade:
1/4 cup coriander
1/4 cup basil
1 Tblsp rice vinegar
1 Tblsp brown sugar
1 Tblsp fresh ginger
1 clove garlic
1 Tblsp walnut / (or olive) oil
1/2 lime, juice of

For the salad:
400g noodles
1 bunch baby asparagus
1 bunch broccolini (baby broccoli)
1 red onion
1/4 cup coriander
1/4 cup basil
1/4 cup mint
1/4 cup peanuts

For the dressing:
1 clove garlic
1 Tblsp ginger
2 stems spring onion
1/2 chilli
1/4 cup/ 60ml light soy
1 Tblsp rice vinegar
1 Tblsp brown sugar
1 Tblsp sherry or shaosing wine
1/2 lime, juice of

Mise-en-Place:
Chop all the herbs
Chop the ginger and garlic
Crush the peanuts
Blend all the marinade ingredients.
Slice the chicken then add to the marinade
Slice the red onion
Chop the spring onions and chilli (for the dressing)

Method:
Cook the noodles until soft in boiling water. About 4 minutes. Refresh in cold water.
Cook the broccolini and asparagus in boiling water until tender. About 4-5 minutes. Refresh in cold water.
Make the dressing: Place all the ingredients into a bowl and stir. Set aside.
Drain the chicken from the marinade
Heat 1 Tblsp of oil in a wok. Add the chicken and stir fry until cooked. About 3-5 minutes.
Toss all the salad ingredients together.
Add the chicken.
Add the dressing. 1-2 Tblsp per person.
Serve

Adjust:
Remember that chilli can be added to a dressing but not easily removed! Therefore add chilli bit-by-bit until you become familiar with the flavours.
Dressing:
Too spicy: Thin down with water, sugar and soy
Too bland: Add more fresh herbs and lime juice
Too salty: More sugar

Presentation:
I prefer to serve noodle salads in bowls as this instantly adds more height to the dish.
However if you wish to serve on a plate pile the noodle salad as high as possible, spear the asparagus and broccolini in to create more height. Garnish with basil or mint tips.

Chef Tip:
To crush the peanuts place in a tea towel, then repeatedly bash with a rolling pin. (Use the corner of a table to reduce noise.) This is also excellent stress therapy!

Chef Insight:
Broccolini is a smaller, sweeter version of broccoli. Like its parent it is rich in vitamin c and is thought to be an anti-carcinogenic