Name: Thai chicken noodle salad
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 1 chicken about 1.5kg/3lb 5oz; 3 slices fresh root ginger; 2 spring onions roughly chopped; 2 garlic cloves; 175g rice noodles; 1 tbsp sunflower oil; 100g asparagus trimmed and cut into short lengths; 175g sugar snap peas (cut into thin strips lengthways) or green beans (cut into short lengths); 4 spring onions shredded; 175g cherry tomatoes halved; juice 2 limes; 2 tbsp light muscovado or palm sugar; 5 tbsp fish sauce; 1-2 red chillies deseeded and finely chopped; handful each basil and mint leaves, roughly torn if large, plus extra for garnish; handful salted peanuts roughly chopped

For the chicken

1 chicken
about 1.5kg/3lb 5oz
3 slices fresh root ginger
2 spring onions
roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves

For the salad

175g rice noodles
1 tbsp sunflower oil
100g asparagus
trimmed and cut into short lengths
175g sugar snap peas
(cut into thin strips lengthways) or green beans (cut into short lengths)
4 spring onions
shredded
175g cherry tomatoes
halved

For the dressing

juice 2 limes
2 tbsp light muscovado or palm sugar
5 tbsp fish sauce
1-2 red chillies
deseeded and finely chopped

To serve

handful each basil
and mint leaves, roughly torn if large, plus extra for garnish
handful salted peanuts
roughly chopped

Method

step 1
Put the chicken in a large heavy pan or flameproof casserole, then add the ginger, spring onions and garlic, plus a good sprinkling of salt. Cover with water, bring to the boil, reduce the heat, then cover tightly. Simmer the chicken for 1-1¼ hrs until tender. Leave to cool for 15 mins, then remove the chicken from the pan and strip off the meat. (The stock can be cooled and frozen for soups, sauces and casseroles.) Tear the chicken into bite-size chunks, then leave to cool.
step 2
Put the noodles in a large heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 4 mins, drain, rinse in cold water, then return to the bowl. Use a scissors to snip into short lengths, then toss with the oil to stop them sticking together.
step 3
Cook the asparagus for 3-4 mins in boiling salted water, then tip into a sieve and cool under cold running water. Drain well. If using green beans, cook them with the asparagus. If using sugar snaps, they won’t need to be cooked.
step 4
To make the dressing, mix the lime juice with the sugar until it has dissolved. Add the fish sauce and chillies, then mix well. To serve, put all the salad ingredients in a large bowl with most of the basil and mint leaves. Pour over the dressing and toss everything together well. Pile into a large serving bowl, then scatter over the peanuts and the remaining basil and mint.