The mixed salads that are refreshing are always great choices to change up your family’s meals on hot days. Today, let’s cook with TasteVN to discover 2 simple ways to make delicious banana flower chicken salad and phoenix flower salad at home!
1. Banana flower chicken salad
Preparation
20 minutes
Cooking
40 minutes
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Banana flower chicken salad For 3 servings
Chicken 130 gr Banana flower 150 gr Vietnamese coriander 20 gr Chili 1 piece Lemon juice 5 tablespoons Roasted peanuts 10 gr White sugar 2 tablespoons Onion 1/4 bulb Carrot 1/2 bulb Mint 10 gr Garlic 1 bulb Fish sauce 2 tablespoons Salt 1 tablespoon
How to choose fresh banana flowers
- Banana flowers that have been peeled and shredded often have a dark brown or black color, not as crisp and firm as when soaked in chemicals, so be careful when buying.
- Good banana flowers have a deep red color, fresh skin, and a white powdery layer on the outside. When you hold it, it feels firm and heavy.
- You should buy whole banana flowers to prepare and store yourself to ensure the safety and quality of the banana flowers.
How to prepare Chicken Salad with Banana Flower
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Prepare the ingredients
You should let the banana flower wilt a little before slicing; do not slice it immediately after harvesting. Prepare a large bowl of water and add 1/2 tablespoon of salt and the juice of a fresh lemon, stirring well to dissolve. Slice the banana flower horizontally and soak it in the bowl of water, then rinse with cold water and drain.
Peel the carrot, use a grater to shred it or cut it into thin strands with a knife, and add 1/2 tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to the bowl of carrot to marinate it for a sweet and sour taste.
Peel the onion, shred it, and soak it in 1/2 tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. You can also add a little ice water to make the onion crispy and delicious.
Wash the Vietnamese coriander and mint thoroughly and let them drain, then chop them finely.
Tips for preparing banana flower without browning:
- Before slicing, use your hands to peel off the tough outer layers, separating each layer until you reach the tender part of the banana flower, then stop and start cutting or shredding.
- Slice or shred the banana flower thinly across its width. For each slice, soak the banana flower in the bowl of lemon water and salt immediately to prevent it from browning; leaving it out too long will make it unappealing.
- Soak the banana flower in the prepared lemon salt water for at least 30 minutes. After that, remove it and rinse several times with water until clean, then drain.
- You can use vinegar, alum, or fermented rice mixed with water instead of lemon for soaking the banana flower. Avoid adding too much salt when preparing the soaking water, as it will make the banana flower salty and unappetizing.
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Boil and Shred Chicken
Clean the chicken, boil the chicken meat with smashed ginger. Wait for the water to boil, then lower the heat, and boil until the chicken is just cooked, then remove it from the heat. Cover it to let the boiled chicken cook completely. After that, take it out, let it cool slightly, and shred it into bite-sized pieces.
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Make the Salad Dressing
Clean and finely chop garlic and chili.
Put 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, and 2 tablespoons of lime juice into a bowl to make the salad dressing. Stir well to dissolve the sugar, then add the minced garlic and chili.
Tip:
You can adjust the salad dressing according to your family’s taste.
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Mix the Salad
After soaking, rinse the onion and carrot in cold water to reduce the pungency.
Put the shredded chicken in a large bowl or basin, add the shredded banana flower, onion, carrot, Vietnamese coriander, mint, and salad dressing, then gently mix everything together until well combined.
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The Final Product
The chicken salad with banana flower is delicious and unique with the crunchy and sweet banana flower, fragrant and tender chicken, plus the rich salad dressing, making it really appealing, right? Enjoy it right away!
2. Chicken salad with phoenix flowers
Preparation
30 minutes
Cooking
30 minutes
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Chicken salad with phoenix flowers Serves 4
Chicken 1 whole Young banana stem 1 stalk Phoenix flowers 5 branches Red chili 3 pieces Shallots 5 bulbs Lime 1 piece Crushed peanuts a little Fish sauce 4 tablespoons Vinegar a little Herbs a little (cilantro/ basil/ rice paddy herb) Common spices a little (sugar/ salt/ monosodium glutamate)
How to choose good young banana stems
- Choose a young banana stem that is about the size of an adult’s calf, cut close to the ground to take about half of the stem, and remove all the old leaves on the outside.
- You can use banana flower (banana bud) instead of young banana stem if you can’t find it. The banana flower mixed in the salad is also very delicious!
Where to find phoenix flowers?
- Phoenix flowers can be easily found in the middle of summer when the phoenix trees bloom. Look for places with phoenix trees and pick fresh flowers to mix in the salad.
- It’s best to pick fresh flower branches still on the tree, with no signs of pests, wilting, and still firmly attached to the branch.
- Avoid picking flowers that have fallen to the ground, are torn, bruised, or wilted.
How to Prepare Phoenix Flower Chicken Salad
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Prepare and Boil Chicken
The chicken you bought has been cleaned of feathers, so you should wash it thoroughly with cold water, rub some salt and vinegar on the chicken to eliminate any odor, then rinse it again with water until clean, and let it drain.
Tie the neck, legs, and wings of the chicken neatly, then place the chicken in a pot of boiling water with a little salt. When the water has boiled for a while, use the end of a chopstick to poke through the chicken; if no red blood flows out, the chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken and let it cool slightly.
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Prepare Other Ingredients
Pick the phoenix flowers and separate them, then place them in a bowl of diluted salt water to soak and wash clean.
For the banana stem, cut it and peel off the outer layer until you reach the tender core that is tightly packed inside. Wash the banana stem and then use a knife to slice it thinly and soak it in a bowl of diluted salt water.
For the herbs, remove any old, wormy, or wilted leaves, then wash them clean with diluted salt water.
Peeled shallots and cleaned red chili.
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Shred the chicken
After boiling the chicken and letting it cool slightly, you proceed to shred the chicken for the salad.
Shred the meat into thin, long pieces that are easy to eat. You can keep the bones and put them into the pot of chicken broth to cook porridge, which will be very delicious.
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Mixing the dressing for the salad
First, slice the shallots thinly and chop the red chili.
Add into a bowl 4 tablespoons of fish sauce, stir together with 3 teaspoons of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate.
When the sugar is completely dissolved, add the shallots and chili, mix well, squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into the bowl, and season to taste.
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Mixing the chicken salad with phoenix flower
Add the sliced banana stem and cleaned phoenix flower into a large bowl, drizzle the fish sauce mixture over it, and mix well so that the fish sauce coats the banana stem and phoenix flower evenly.
Tear the culantro, basil, and Vietnamese coriander into small pieces and add them to the bowl, mixing thoroughly to enhance the aroma, then add the shredded chicken and stir well to combine all the ingredients.
The salad is now complete and ready to be served on a plate for enjoyment! Don’t forget to sprinkle some crushed peanuts on top to make the dish even more delicious and appealing.
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Final Product
The chicken salad is mixed to taste, slightly salty and sour, bringing an extremely refreshing flavor.
The crunchy white banana stem combined with the phoenix flowers creates an eye-catching, appealing dish. The characteristic aroma of various herbs along with the rich flavor of peanuts brings a fresh taste to the dish, dispelling the heat of summer.
Especially, the chicken is boiled until tender and sweet, making it very tasty when mixed with the salad, even more enticing when dipped in spicy, salty chili lime salt that is addictive!
How to choose good chicken
When choosing live chicken:
- Hold 2 chickens of the same size; the heavier one has firmer meat.
- The chicken’s beak is sharp, shiny, and does not have any slime.
- The chicken’s legs are straight, slender, uniform, without scratches, chips, or broken nails, and there are no red spots or unusual marks on the legs.
- Lift the chicken’s feathers to see thin, soft skin; gently squeeze the chicken’s body to feel firmness, not flabbiness, with some large yellow streaks under the breast and wings. Under the wings, you can see the meat and blood vessels, indicating that the chicken is firm and not fatty.
- The chicken’s crop is not tight, indicating the chicken is healthy.
When choosing pre-prepared chicken:
- The local chicken skin is light yellow with only darker yellow in certain areas like the breast, wings, and back, while the super-egg-laying chicken is either white or uniformly yellow (possibly dyed with harmful chemicals). To identify if the chicken has been dyed, observe: if the chicken skin is yellow but the internal fat is white, it’s chemically dyed chicken.
- The local chicken skin is thin, smooth, and highly elastic. Choose chicken meat that looks fresh, with no unpleasant or antibiotic smells, and the skin should not have bruises or blood clots. To buy good chicken, avoid dark-skinned chickens as these are likely dead before processing.
- Additionally, to avoid buying water-injected chicken, pay attention and press on the suspected areas (mainly thighs and breasts) to check; if you find them soft, slippery, or deformed, do not buy. The chemicals injected are not good for health.
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The above is a guide on 2 how to make chicken salad with banana flower and phoenix flower, delicious and simple, easy to change flavor for the family that anyone can do. Wish you success with these 2 recipes!
*Images and recipes referenced from the YouTube channel Feedy VN, Cooky.vn and HOA SEN FOOD.
