You may not have heard of it, but the mighty julienne peeler, which is central to this recipe, is my new favorite kitchen item. I suggest you run to your nearest Sur La Table or buy it off Amazon (like I did) as fast as possible so you can incorporate it into your weeknight dinner routine.
This “not a salad” salad is Thai inspired and incorporates spicy peanut sauce, lean protein and thin cut raw vegetables into a healthy, beautiful plate than you can have on the table in about thirty minutes.
I suggest you make the sauce first and pop it in the fridge before cooking the chicken and preparing the vegetables.
Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
Toasted sesame seeds
A 1-inch piece of ginger peeled
1 garlic clove
½ cup smooth peanut butter
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
½ tbsp. packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup water
Directions
1. Toss garlic and ginger into a blender and pulse until well chopped.
2. Add remaining ingredients and blend till smooth.
3. Add additional water if necessary and feel free to add more lime juice or brown sugar for your personal tastes.
4. Once sauce is desired consistency pour it into a small bowl and pop it into the fridge.
Chicken
Season 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts as desired and cook using preferred method. Most chicken breasts should poach in 10-15 minutes but I chose to salt and pepper mine before pan-frying.
Once Chicken is cooked, set it aside to rest and begin preparing vegetables.
Vegetables
Ingredients
4 zucchinis
2 carrots
Rice Wine Vinegar
Salt
Directions
1. Clean all vegetables and chop rounded edge (the non-stem end) off of your zucchini.
2. Carefully grasp the top of your zucchini and methodically run the julienne peeler down the side of the vegetable. Rotate the zucchini every few shaves so that the zucchini doesn’t become lopsided. Repeat with carrots.
3. Toss the vegetables into a large bowl and dress them lightly with your vinegar and a minimal amount of salt before plating.
Once your vegetables are plated, slice your chicken and lay it on top of your pile of veggies before spooning on the peanut sauce and sprinkling sesame seeds as garnish.
Serve!