Chicken Satay Noodle Salad

The reduced calorie thing seems to be going well, so far.

We’re managing to survive without crisps, chocolate, cake…that sort of thing. Sausages and pies are off the list and have been replaced with meals like this poached chicken and salad.

This isn’t just ANY chicken salad though, it’s a ‘Claire and Ed’s Spicy Satay Noodle Salad’

Don’t you think that it’s so much easier to eat salads when the sun finally comes out?

Ed made the satay sauce this time, I realise now that this was a ruse so that he could sneak a spoonful of peanut butter and a nugget of sugar during the process.

If you haven’t poached chicken to use in a salad before, this method is really worth a try. It’s very easy and gives you moist tender strips of chicken that feel inordinately healthy.

Our salad was made up of baby spinach leaves, sliced peppers and cucumber, blanched sliced baby-corn and a pack of rice vermicelli noodles that had been soaked in boiling water for 5 minutes, then refreshed. George joined in and made his favourite gyoza dipping sauce as a salad dressing.

I tossed the chicken pieces in the satay sauce, sat it on top of the noodles and salad, then sprinkled on some sesame seeds and chilli flakes.

The rest of the satay got served alongside for dipping.

The technical bit:

To poach the chicken

Add plenty of salt to a medium pan of cold water then add your chicken breasts, bring it all to the boil then remove from the heat and leave it with the lid on for 20 minutes. Then take the chicken out of the water and leave to one side. When it’s cooled a little shred it up with your fingers.

George’s gyoza dipping sauce

• Mustard
• Lemon grass
• Honey
• Soy Sauce
• Garlic Oil
• White Balsamic
• Sunflower oil

“Put in how much you like of everything and then whisk it all together”

The satay sauce

• 2-3 tablespoons of peanuts butter and a handful of crushed peanuts
• 3/4 can of coconut milk
• 2 tsp of curry paste
• 2 tblsp muscovado sugar
• 2 tsp lemon or lime juice

Heat the coconut milk and curry paste in a pan for 5 minutes to melt it together. Add the sugar, peanuts and lemon juice and simmer gently for around 30 minutes, stirring regularly. The sauce will gradually thicken and darken and some of the oil will come to the surface.