This refreshing salad recipe came from Muriel who lives far away in Perth, Western Australia. Muriel insists on crediting her daughter Chloe with this recipe, so thank-you Chloe O’Leary, and keep them coming! Chloe and her friend Paula are also responsible for the delicious Rosemary Shortbread Biscuits recipe on this site – do give them a go, they are amazing!
This salad is so easy to prepare, and is perfect if you’re having a salad-y dinner, or if you’ve been asked to bring a dish to a family party – do you remember family parties? They used to be a thing.. – and will be again!
In the meantime, here’s a sunny-day salad full of bright colours for you!
EQUIPMENT:
- A medium-large heat resistant bowl
- A sieve
- A large mixing bowl – I use my big Mason Cash bowl for this.
- A smaller bowl to mix the dressing
- A set of cooking tongs
- A potato peeler or Julienne cutter.
- A balloon whisk
- A sharp knife
- A pretty serving bowl
INGREDIENTS: This makes a big, big bowl of salad, so it’s perfect for a family or a crowd. just reduce quantities if you want a smaller salad.
- 100g vermicelli noodles
- 500g cooked chicken at room temperature, shredded
- 1 large red pepper, finely sliced – see NOTE 3
- 1 large yellow pepper, finely sliced
- 1 carrot in julienne strips or ribbons
- 100g bean sprouts, or pea shoots
- 100g Sugar snap peas, washed and shaken dry, cut in half or quarters.
- A handful of Coriander, or flat-leaf Parsley, stalks finely chopped, for serving
- A drizzle of Olive oil, just before serving.
Dressing:
- 2 tbsps. light Soy sauce
- 2 tbsps. Olive oil
- juice of a half a lime or lemon
- 1 finger of fresh Ginger, peeled and grated
METHOD:
- Cover the noodles with boiling water and leave for 5 minutes until they’re fairly soft. See NOTE 1
- Drain and refresh under cold water; drain again.
- Roughly chop the noodles and put them into the large mixing bowl.
- Put the julienned carrots into the bowl you used for the noodles – and cover with boiling water. Leave them for 5 minutes, then drain, refresh, and drain again. Add them to the mixing bowl. See NOTE 2 for ‘refresh’
- Wash and drain the Sugar-snap Peas and the beansprouts (separately) and drain well. Cut the sugarsnap peas in half or quarters. Add them to the bowl.
- Add the shredded chicken, carrots, beansprouts and peppers, then toss gently together. I found my kitchen tongs useful for doing this. If you prefer, you can add the noodles and vegetables in alternate layers, which will make them easier to mix.
- In the smaller bowl, whisk the sauce ingredients together. Taste and check for seasoning; mine needed salt.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad and mix gently to combine, give yourself a few minutes to do this.
- Transfer the salad to the serving plate or bowl
- Sprinkle over the Coriander, drizzle with Olive Oil, and serve!
NOTES:
- I gave the noodles 8 minutes, and to me, they were a little over-done, so I’m going to say 5 minutes, and see how they look to you. Don’t forget to use a timer!
- To refresh something is to cook it briefly in boiling water, and then to drain it, and immediately plunge it into cold, cold water. This does a couple of useful things – it stops the cooking process, so that vegetables will retain their crispness, plus it keeps the item’s natural colour so that they don’t get that delightful ‘grey’ look!
- If you’re concerned about using raw peppers – they don’t agree with everyone – I would suggest that you stir-fry the peppers and sugarsnap peas briefly, then add to the salad as normal.
- One of my favourite flavours is the magic combination of fresh Ginger and Lime or lemon; the lovely deep saltiness of the Soy Sauce just adds to the yumminess of this refreshing salad.
- I used 3 Chicken breasts for this salad. I poached them gently in hot Chicken stock until they were cooked, then shredded them. However, this is a fantastic salad for using up the remains of a roast chicken – and how about leftover Turkey at Christmas? You heard it here first!
- I think that this would be a great salad for a picnic – as long as you kept it well chilled at the bottom of your Cool box! Just give everyone a bowl and a fork, and let them get stuck in!