Tips Medium-hot Serves 4 as part of a Thai meal Preparation and cooking time: 1 hour This is a wonderful Thai dish which combines the deliciously rich and creamy flavour of the banana flower with crunchy cashews nuts, the heat of the roasted chilli and all the other ingredients. Banana flowers are actually the buds of the banana plant, which are soaked and shredded for use in salads. They are also available preserved from Asian grocery shops - soak in cold water for 10 minutes and rinse before use. You can use shreded green pawpaw or carrot for banana flower substition.
Ingredients
- 1 L(1 pt)cold water
- 100 g (3 0z) skinless, boneless chicken breast, sliced
- 100 g (3 oz) raw king prawns, shelled and deveined
- 1 banana flower, weighing about 200 g (7 oz)
- 2 tabfespoons fresh lime juice 50 g (2 oz) dried shrimps, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon sliced shallots
- 2 tablespoons roasted cashew nuts, crushed
- 8 crispy-fried chillies
- 1 shallot, sliced and fried Handful of coriander leaves
- 3 pieces of banana flower, to garnish (Asian grocery)
- Dressing
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar
- 1 tablespoons Roasted Chilli Paste (see page 14)
- 2 teaspoon dried, roasted chilli powder
- 3 tablespoons Coconut Milk
Directions
Bring 500 ml (18 fl oz) of water to the boil in a saucepan then add the chicken pieces, reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add the prawns and continue simmering for 3 minutes, until cooked. Remove the chicken and the prawns and set aside. Discard water. Remove and discard all the hard leaves from the banana flower, then thinly slice the white inside part diagonally. Mix the lime juice with 500 ml (18 fl oz) of cold water and soak the banana flower slices for 5 minutes to prevent discoloration. Make the dressing. In a bowl combine the fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, chilli paste, chilli powder and coconut milk. Mix them together well until the palm sugar has completely dissolved. Gently squeeze the water from the banana flower and then combine it with the dressing, the chicken and prawns, dried shrimps, tablespoon of sliced shallots and cashew nuts. Mix well then serve sprinkled with the cnspy-fned chillies and fried shallots and garnish with coriander leaves and banana flower pieces.
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Submitted 5/24/08.
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Submitted By: J Martin
Banana flower salad