Vietnamese Papaya Salad with Chicken

Chicken:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tble minced lemongrass
1 1/2 Tbl minced ginger
1 chili pepper, seeds removed, minced
1 1/2 Tbl oyster sauce
1 1/2 Tbl sugar
1 1/2 Tbl fish sauce
16 ounces chicken breast, very thinly sliced
2 Tbl canola oil

Salad dressing:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 chili pepper, seeds removed, minced
4 Tbl fresh lime Juice
4 Tbl fish sauce
4 Tbl sugar
1-3 tsp sriracha (optional)

Salad:
1 green (underripe) papaya, peeled and julienned
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
1 cucumber, julienned
1 daikon radish, peeled and julienned
1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
Handful basil, roughly chopped
Handful mint, roughly chopped
1 Tbl sesame seeds (optional)
4 Tbl chopped roasted peanuts (optional)

You can substitute different vegetables--try adding thinly sliced onion, bell pepper, or snow peas. You can substitute regular radishes for daikon radish. This is also good with underripe mango instead of papaya.

First, prep the chicken: mince together the garlic, lemongrass, ginger, and chili until very fine. Stir in the oyster sauce, sugar, and fish sauce until combined, then gently fold in the chicken. Set aside to marinate while you prep the rest of the salad.

Next, make the dressing: mince together the garlic and chili. Stir in the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and, if desired, sriracha. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

Next, chop all your vegetables (a julienne blade on a mandoline helps immensely). Avoid the seeds on the cucumber and papaya. Layer the veggies with paper towels to absorb excess moisture. Roughly chop the herbs.

Next, cook the chicken. Heat a wok or saute pan over high heat without anything in it. When it is hot (it should be smoking), stir 2 Tbl canola oil into the chicken. Put about 1/3 of the chicken into the pan, separating the pieces so that they have maximum surface contact with the pan and are not touching either other. Let cook for 30-60 seconds or until dark brown on one side, then flip and cook until the second side is done. Remove from the pan, then repeat with the remaining chicken in two additional batches. Make sure to scrape any remaining marinade into the pan with the last batch.

Finally, assemble: remove the paper towels from the veggies. Add the herbs. Give your dressing one last whisk, then pour over the vegetables and herbs. Toss gently until everything is mixed. Plate the salad, and top with the chicken. If desired, garnish with sesame seeds and/or chopped roasted peanuts.

Serving Size: 4 servings

Number of Servings: 4

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user BLUEHOO0810.