Great salads for summer with a southeast Asian flavour

As the summer months roll around I tend to find it far less acceptable to tuck in to rich, indulgent stews and slow-braised meats. I have to think of my bikini body, after all... That said, as a food lover I’m torn.

I want those rich flavours and those darkly delicious dishes, which make your eyes close for brief moments of complete euphoria. But that feeling can be slightly tricky to achieve when faced with salads leaves and vegetables, as the season commands. In my attempt to find the middle ground between dishes that will expand your waistline and ones that are fitting for lighter, brighter days, I give you two powerhouse salads to kick-start a new season of eating.

First is a chicken salad inspired by a trip to Mission Chinese in San Francisco, where they form a titillating blend of spices to coat their crispy chicken that creates a numbing effect on the tongue. Really, it’s down to the use of Sichuan peppercorns, which are electric in their spiciness, alongside other aromatics such as cumin, fennel and star anise. It’s a wonderful combination, which adds depth and interest to simply baked chicken thighs. In an effort to create extra crispy chicken pieces in the oven and without deep frying, I’ve employed a little trick picked up online: adding baking powder to the chicken will raise the pH levels in the skin, thus resulting in evenly golden brown chicken and crispy skin. Unlike many of tips to be found online, this one works and creates mouth-watering crispness that gets dusted heavily in those numbing spices.

Combined with an Asian-inspired salad full of crunch and nutty tastes courtesy of sesame oil, this dish that deserves a place in your regular repertoire. Many of my recipes are inspired by trips to southeast Asia. The bustling street-food scene is something anyone with interest in food must experience at some stage in their life. Most of the best meals of my life so far have taken place at little vendors in Vietnam and Thailand, eating at plastic tables and chairs. The Vietnamese beef and mango salad is an ode to one eaten a few streets away from Hanoi's Hoan Kim lake, where rather than slivers of beef, a spicy sort of beef jerky was used with shredded papaya. In the absence of beef jerky and fresh papaya, this version will get you close to the original. Sit on a plastic stool to eat it, if it helps with the experience.

BANG BANG NUMBING CHICKEN SALAD

The spice mixture here can be made in larger amounts and stored in a jar for quick access to this recipe.

Serves 4
8 chicken thighs, boneless
2tbs baking powder
1tbs salt
6 spring onions, finely sliced

Numbing spice mix
2tbs Sichuan peppercorns
2tbs cumin seeds
1tbs fennel seeds
1tbs red chilli flakes
2 star anise
1tsp salt
2tbs brown sugar

For the salad
2tbs sesame seeds, toasted
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into spaghetti-like strands using a julienne peeler or spiraliser
1 cucumber, sliced into spaghetti-like strands using a julienne peeler or spiraliser
1 red chilli, finely sliced
Good handful coriander leaves

For the dressing
2tbs soy sauce
2tbs toasted sesame oil
2tbs rice wine vinegar
Juice of ½ lime

Method
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine the baking powder and salt. Add the chicken thighs and toss to coat completely.

Arrange the chicken thighs on a wire rack set over a roasting tin.

Place to cook in the oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown and cooked all the way through. Brush with a tablespoon of sunflower oil halfway through the cooking time to ensure a golden-brown finish.

Place all the ingredients for the numbing spice mix except the sugar in a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat and cook until toasted and aromatic. Place in a pestle and mortar or coffee grinder, with the sugar, and bash to a fine powder.

For the dressing, whisk together the ingredients and set aside.

Put all the rest of the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Pour over the dressing and give it a good mix to combine.

Once the chicken is cooked, place the spice mix, spring onions and cooked chicken pieces in a mixing bowl and toss until the chicken is completely coated.

Serve the chicken pieces with generous helpings of salad.

VIETNAMESE BEEF AND MANGO SALAD

This salad is all about texture and bold flavour. The steak hums with fish sauce and lemongrass and is cooked until just tender, before being combined with fresh crunch from baby gem and beansprouts and the slippery sweetness of mango slivers. The dressing is one I use over and over; it also works extremely well with fish to add brightness and spice.

Serves 4
600g rump steak, trimmed of fat and thinly sliced
3tbs fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 lemongrass stalk, roughly bashed and finely sliced
1tbs rapeseed oil
4 shallots or 1 large onion, thinly sliced
Roasted peanuts, finely chopped, to serve

For the salad
1 ripe mango, sliced thinly
2 baby gem lettuce, sliced thinly
A large handful beansprouts
A large handful each of coriander, thai basil, mint leaves

For the nuoc cham dressing
4tbs fish sauce
Juice of 1 lime
1tbs caster sugar
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
3 red chillies, finely chopped

Method
Place the beef strips in a bowl and add the fish sauce, half the garlic and half the lemongrass. Leave to marinate for 20 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Whisk the ingredients for the dressing together in a large bowl until combined. Set aside.

Heat a wok or frying pan over a high heat. Add the oil, and, just as it begins to smoke, add the remaining garlic and lemongrass and shallots to the wok. Stir-fry for one to two minutes until it becomes aromatic. Immediately add the beef and the marinade and stir-fry for two to three minutes, allowing it to sit in the pan every now and then without stirring to ensure it gets a good colour and chars slightly.

Add the ingredients for the salad into the bowl with the dressing and toss to coat.

Serve bowls with the salad topped with the warm beef and roasted peanuts.