Bang Bang Chicken Salad
Bang Bang Chicken Salad. This traditional Sichuan Chinese salad recipe is moreish, savoury and spicy. It has very quickly became the best ever chicken salad for me. Poached chicken is tossed in a nutty, spicy sauce and served on a bed of cucumber, carrot, spring onions and lettuce for fresh and delicious chicken salad. The sauce alone is so good that it could be eaten by the spoon. Try this chicken salad recipe – you will not be disappointed.
Bang Bang?
Bang Bang Chicken Salad may sound an unusual name for a Chinese chicken recipe. However, the ‘bang bang’ element of this dish refers to the way in which the chicken is shredded for the salad. Traditionally made as street food in the Sichuan province of China, street vendors would poach the chicken before using large batons to shred the meat. This process not only makes the shredding process really quick, but it also tenderises the chicken and makes it soft and succulent. I use a wooden rolling pin to bang my chicken. However, two forks used to shred the chicken would work just as well.
Sichuan Ingredients
This recipe does use some traditional Sichuan ingredients. It cannot be recommended enough to seek out a local Asian or Chinese supermarkets for the best Sichuan ingredients to make this Bang Bang Chicken Salad taste authentically delicious. The top tier Sichuan ingredient for me is Sichuan Chilli Oil. Deeply savoury and richly hot with chilli, the oil will make a difference to all your Chinese cookery. The oil contains crushed chillies and the texture of the chillies in the oil adds a flavour bomb to this recipe.
Another essential ingredient in this bang bang chicken salad, as well as a lot of other Sichuan recipes, is Sichuan Peppercorns. Sichuan Peppercorns cannot be substituted with black or white peppercorns. They are intensely fragrant, full of heat and leave an unusual numbing sensation in your mouth; I for one am addicted to them! As one of the main ingredients in five spice powder, you could substitute for five spice in this recipe if you are at a pinch, but if you want to try authentic Sichuan recipes, then it is an essential cupboard ingredient. Make sure to buy the whole peppercorns and not the ready ground which will have lost a lot of the amazing flavour.
Finally, Chinese Sesame Paste is another cupboard staple. Made in the same way as tahini, the difference between the Chinese version is that the sesame seeds are toasted. This makes the two pretty non-interchangeable. Making your own Chinese sesame paste is easy. Simply toast 200g sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until golden brown. Add to a food processor with two tablespoons of sesame oil and pulse until a thick paste similar to peanut butter is made.
Contact Me
If you have any questions about the recipe for Bang Bang Chicken Salad, or any of my other recipes then get in touch. I can be emailed at [email protected] or find me on Instagram.
Other recipes to try:
- Salt and Chilli Squid
- Dan Dan Noodles (Dandanmian 担担面)
- Steamed Hake with Soy, Ginger, Spring Onions and Chilli Oil
- Sesame Duck with Hoisin Noodles
- Crispy Duck Bao with Homemade Hoisin Sauce
- Honey Chilli Chicken
Bang Bang Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken breasts Bring to room temperature before cooking
- 1 inch Fresh Ginger Thickly sliced
- 5 Spring onions
- 2 Carrots
- 1/2 Cucumber
- 1/4 Iceberg Lettuce
- 3 Small dried red chillies
- 3 tbsp Peanuts
- 1 tsp Sichaun Peppercorns
For the dressing
- 3 tbsp Chinese Sesame Paste You can use peanut butter as a substitute here, but really try and get the sesame paste for the best flavour. Tahini might sound similar but won't taste the same.
- 2-3 tbsp Chicken stock
- 5 tbsp Sichuan Chilli Oil with sediment
- 1 Garlic clove Crushed
- 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns, whole These are an essential ingredient – don't substitute
- 4 tbsp Light soy sauce
- 3 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar Also known as Chinese black vinegar
- 2 tsp Sugar
- 2 tsp Sesame oil
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the sliced ginger. Bash one of the spring onions with the side of a knife to bruise it and add this to the water along with the dried chillies and chicken breasts. Turn down the heat until it is barely simmering and poach the chicken for 10-15 minutes until cooked through. Remove and place into a bowl of cold water to cool down.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing. Add the sesame paste to a large mixing bowl and gradually add the chicken stock until you have the consistency of double cream. Toast the Sichuan Peppercorns in a dry frying pan over a medium high heat for a couple of minutes. Grind to a powder using a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. Toast the sesame seeds until golden brown in a dry pan over a medium high heat. Add the ground peppercorns and sesame seeds to the sesame paste mix. Add all the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Taste and adjust to your liking – you might want to add a little more soy sauce if you want it saltier, a little more vinegar for extra sharpness or a touch more sugar for more sweetness.
- Next prepare the salad. This salad tastes best when the spring onion, carrot and cucumber are sliced really thinly and in even sized pieces. Slice the cucumber into thin slices on an angle. Cut each slice into thin matchsticks. Slice the carrots and spring onions into same sized slices. Thinly shred the lettuce. Put a pile of each salad item on to a plate.
- Now for the 'bang bang' element of this dish. When the chicken breasts are cool, place them on a chopping board. Use a rolling pin to bash the chicken, which will shred it into thin slivers. Alternatively, use two forks to shred each chicken breast.
- Add the shredded chicken to the bowl with the dressing and toss to combine.
- Toast the peanuts and a teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorns in a dry pan over a medium high heat. Using a pestle and mortar, bash the peanuts and peppercorns to combine into a crumble like mix.
- Top the salads with the shredded chicken and then the Sichuan peppercorn peanuts. Drizzle over any remaining dressing and serve.
