Banana flower salad with crispy coconut chicken

(serves 2)

So the first time i had this salad at Green Peppercorn I had one of those amazing mouth-explosion moments where the flavours and textures were just so well-combined and beautifully balanced! Crunchy, fresh, a little bit coconut-creamy and a little bit of a chilli kick. After having this pretty frequently over the past year I have finally decided to give  it a go and have found out about this great Thai chilli jam (nam prik pao) that is a great addition to our sauces collection!

Prep time: 30 min
Cooking time: 15 min

Ingredients
250g chicken breast
1 T soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp herb and garlic salt
1/4 C sweet potato flour (or plain flour if not available)

1 banana flower 
lemon juice in warm water (for soaking banana flower)
1 carrot
1 cucumber
1/2 spanish onion
50g mixed salad leaves
5 sprigs thai basil
5 sprigs peppermint
2 sprigs green shallots
1/4 C dried fried shallots

Dressing
400mL coconut milk
4 T chilli jam (nam prik pao)
juice of 1 lime
2 T fish sauce
4 T brown sugar

Method
1. Cut the chicken breast into thin slices approx 0.5 x 5cm. Marinate in soy, salt, sugar and herb and garlic salt. Set aside for at least 1 hr.
2. Heat a pan on medium heat with 1 T oil. Place the sweet potato flour in a small bowl and lightly dust the chicken in the flour then place in the pan. Sauté for 5-8 minutes until browned and cooked through, turning occasionally. Place on a paper towel to absorb any oil. 
NB. The flour gives a crisp texture. Sweet potato starch makes a good gluten-free option and is also a little sweeter, but i think plain flour would work pretty similarly.

3. Make the dressing by placing the coconut milk on medium heat, then adding the chilli jam, fish sauce and brown sugar and stir to combine. When the sugar is melted, take it off the heat and mix in the lime juice to taste.

4. Remove the outer purple leaves and the mini banana flowers until you reach the pale inner stem. 
NB. The outer purple leaves are not edible so keep peeling even if it feels like a waste.

5. Continue to remove the pale inner layers a few at a time, removing the banana flowers then finely slicing the leaves. Place these into the lemon water to avoid browning. Keep removing the layers and slicing until you've cut up the whole stem.
6. Julienne the cucumber, carrot, spanish onion and shallots. Roughly chop the mixed salad leaves and place all the vegetables in a large salad bowl, and tear in the basil and mint leaves.

7. Toss in the dressing and mix well, then place the chicken pieces on top and garnish with fried onions. Serve in a banana leaf if desired :)