Yam Hua Plee Gai (Banana Blossom & Chicken Salad)

This was one tasty salad- a bit like my favourite Som Tam, it’s kind of an addictive salad- fresh, crunchy, nutty, salty, hot, sweet and sour- it’s pretty much perfect! I think there must be a lot of Vietnamese/ Cambodian influence in this salad as it’s so similar in style- lots of mint and crunchy raw veggies. The banana blossom although looking beautiful isn’t really essential and could easily be substituted with white cabbage.

For two portions use:

• two chicken portions ( thigh/drumsticks or breasts)


• half a red onion, shredded


• 1 banana blossom or ¼ of a white cabbage


• white (wine) vinegar if using a banana blossom


• a small handful of peanuts


• 1 lemongrass stalk, trimmed, outer layer peeled off, finely chopped


• a few kaffir lime leaves (optional) ripped into small bits


• a big handful of mint leaves


• 4 cloves of garlic, 2 finely chopped


• 2 red chillies, roughly chopped


• a teaspoon or so of chilli flakes


• juice of 1 lime


• big splash of fish sauce


• a big pinch of sugar


• a small amount of veg oil for frying

Start by poaching your chicken, plain water is fine, until they are fully cooked, 30-40 minutes should do it.

While this is going on, prepare the banana blossom if you are using one. In a bowl fill it half way with cold water and add a hefty splash of white vinegar- this will stop the banana blossom oxidising and going brown after its peeled. Start by peeling off all the purple outer petals, stopping when you get to the creamy white ones. Trim the stalk and tip and cut the whole thing in half lengthways. Place the flat side down on your board and slice thinly widthways. Get the sliced blossom submerged in the vinegary water straight away. 

Make the dressing- pound up the chillies and 2 whole garlic cloves until you have a rough paste. Add in the sugar, pound, then stir in the fish sauce and lime juice. Leave this to one side for now.

The frying bit- add a small amount of oil to a wok or frying pan and heat quite high. Fry the red onion until it starts to get a bit crispy, throw in the chopped garlic, lemongrass, peanuts and lime leaves for the last minute or so and then turn the whole thing out into a bowl. 

Once the chicken’s cooked, leave it to cool for a while before shredding all the meat. Mix this with the cooked ingredients, mint leaves, chilli flakes and (drained) banana blossom. Tip the dressing over and use your hands to give everything a good stir though. If you’ve used them, serve the salad on top of the banana petals.