Liang Ban Ji Si Fen Pi 涼拌雞絲粉皮 Cold Chicken Salad With Cucumber, Mung Bean Sheet And A Tangy Sesame Paste Dressing

Hot days exceeding 30C are back after a brief hiatus and now is the time to share with you this refreshing and very delicious cold dish using the rest of the poached chicken from our Hainanese chicken rice meal.

It is very similar to bang bang chicken that I posted a while back but with the addition of mung bean sheet (粉皮, fen pi), a popular summer threat in China. Mung bean sheet can be found easily these days, if not feel free to use mung bean noodles (粉絲, fen si) instead.

This is an orgasm of flavours and textures on the same plate; the soft silky fen pi, tender chicken slivers, crisp cucumber ribbons all smothered with the sweet, sour, spicy and nutty sauce, to top with that the toasted sesame seeds and peanuts that add the wonderful smokey crunch.... I Hope I am not sounding too much like Nigella Lawson here!

P.S simply omit the chili oil for a more child - friendly dish.

serves 4 as part of a Chinese meal
you'll need;
1/2 a poached chicken or 3 medium size poached chicken breasts*, shredded
3/4 of a continental cucumber, peeled into thin ribbons using a vegetable peeler
2 mung bean sheets (粉皮), soaked in hot water to soften, refreshed and drained well
3 spring onions, chopped
1 red chili, cut into thin rings
2 tbs of sesame seeds, toasted
3 tbs of toasted crushed peanuts (optional)
* to poach the chicken breasts - bring 1.5 l of water to a boil, add in a spring onion, 2 slices of ginger, a dash of Chinese cooking oil and season well with salt and pepper. Add chicken breasts to the pot, turn off the heat after a minute, cover and let chicken steep for 20 minutes. Remove chicken from the pot and allow to cool before shredding.

for the dressing;

1.5 tbs of white sugar

1.5 tbs of light soy

1.5 tbs of Chingkiang vinegar (鎮江香醋) or Chinese black vinegar (黑醋)

6 tbs of smooth Chinese sesame paste (芝麻醬) 

2 tsp of Sichuan pepper (川椒), toasted and ground

1.5 tbs of sesame oil

3 tbs of chilli oil with sediment (辣椒油) (optional)

Mung bean sheet at its raw state. 

Break mung bean sheets into large shards and soak in hot water for 30 minutes. Refresh and drain well.

Peel cucumber into think ribbons using a vegetable peeler and set aside.

Skin and bone the chicken and shred into neat slivers.

Prepare the sauce by mixing all sauce ingredients in a bowl. 

Layer cucumber, mung bean sheet and chicken on a large platter, drizzle the sauce over and top with spring onions, chili rings, toasted sesame seeds and peanuts.

Mix well and enjoy! Serve this as part of a Chinese meal or a snack with a few cold beers on a hot summer afternoon.