Shredded Chicken with Cucumbers, Almonds and Sweet Chili Sauce

This recipe is my take of one of the most surprisingly delicious chicken dishes I ever ate in a restaurant. There were two surprises in this recipe, the addition of fresh coriander leaves and Sweet Chili sauce from a jar which I had never used before. The original dish had peanuts in it, we don't use peanuts because my favorite brother-in-law is allergic.

All I can say is give this recipe a try – the results are worth the effort.

Shredded Chicken, Sweet Chili Sauce, Chopped Almonds,
Fresh Coriander,  Cucumbers

[Rating – easy]

[Servings: 4-6 main courses or 6-8 appetizers]

Preparation time: 

20 minutes to poach, cool and shred the chicken

20 minutes to cut and mix the remainder of ingredients

Ingredients: 

4 whole chicken breasts

Unpoached Chicken Breasts

2 whole cloves of garlic peeled and cut in half

1 – chunk of fresh ginger (about an inch) - peeled

Garlic and Ginger

100 grams or 3/4 cup almonds chopped or diced

1 large handful of fresh coriander – chopped

6 large cucumbers – sliced (see picture – I used a simple mandolin)

1 small bottle (250 grams) of ready-made Sweet Chili Sauce

Chopped Almonds, Cucumbers, Sweet Chili Sauce,  Fresh Coriander

Preparation: 

POACHING THE CHICKEN

• In a medium size pot - fill with water and add the whole garlic cloves and ginger
• Start heating the water and immediately add the chicken breasts
• The water will begin to heat up and the chicken will begin to turn whitish
• When the water starts to boil the chicken will begin to float
• Give it about 5 more minutes to poach and - it should be fully cooked
• Remove it from the pot – rinse under cold water

Poached Chicken Breasts

• Start shredding the chicken by hand (see photo) into a large bowl                         [to shred pull small strips from the breast]

Shredded Poached Chicken Breasts

 CUCUMBERS

• Slice the cucumbers in thin strips or use a mandolin type cutter (see picture of an example of one) 

Simple Mandolin 

Cut Cucumbers

CORIANDER

• Chop the coriander

COMBINE – large bowl

• Shredded Chicken
• Diced Almonds
• Chopped Coriander (and some ground black pepper)
• MIX together
• ADD – Sweet Chili Sauce – a whole small bottle (~250 grams)

Shredded Chicken with Cucumbers, Almonds and Sweet Chili Sauce

Shredded Chicken served on a lettuce leaf

Shredded Chicken served on a lettuce leaf -
just roll it up and eat it by hand!!!

You can store this dish in a closed container in the refrigerator – if you do there will be some liquid on the bottom –gently spill that out before you serve it (the excess liquid is from the cucumbers).

Options and Substitutions

Chopped peanuts instead of almonds

Plain Homemade Pancakes

Every so often someone asks for an old favorite, last week it was homemade pancakes.  Why not use a commercial pancake mix you are asking yourself? 

Years ago there was no really good “pancake mixes” available here so I frantically called my good friend and she gave me this simple mix. 

I still use this pancake mix today basically because it is easy to put together, it is economical and it can be doubled and tripled without causing any damage to the quality of the pancake which actually makes it almost foolproof.

[The batter can be prepared the night before and stored in the refrigerator - just remember take it out of the frig about 15 minutes before you want to use it and give it a stir, you may need to add a dollop of milk to thin the batter.]

[Rating – easy]

Preparation time: 

10 minutes to combine ingredients

Makes about 12-15 medium sized pancakes

Ingredients: 

1 ½ cups of plain flour

1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons sugar

2 eggs

3 tablespoons of canola oil

1 cup of milk (or milk substitute)

(honestly that’s it)

Milk, oil, sugar, eggs and flour

Preparation: 

• Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix together
• Add the remaining ingredients (eggs, oil, milk)

(if you are making it ahead you can use a large plastic container with a cover or cover your bowl with plastic wrap to keep the batter from picking up any other food  odors)

Stir with a spoon

• Stir until all ingredients are mixed together - not too much or the pancakes will be tough tasting instead of light and airy

[the batter should be sort of lumpy]

and bubbly and shiny

Batter should be thick and lumpy . . .

• Pour the batter by the spoonful into a lightly oiled frying pan or grill [wipe the pan with a paper towel to remove any excess oil]

You can make your pancakes as big or as small as you want.

• Pancakes should be turned over when they start to look like this.

Ready for turning

Turning

Our Favorite Combination
Stack of pancakes with Canadian Maple Syrup

Serve with maple syrup, cinnamon and sugar or honey.


Additions or Substitutions:

*Add fresh or frozen berries to the batter

*Use milk substitute instead of cow milk
*Try and use real Canadian Maple Syrup  
*Pancakes can be frozen in ziplock bags and reheated in the microwave for a couple of seconds.


Enjoy!!!