KEY POINTS:
Impress the family with this Chinese take on a chicken salad, which is infused with delicious ginger and orange flavours
Serves 6
2 spring onions
4 slices ginger
2 cloves garlic, sliced
6 white peppercorns
3 slices orange peel
Sea salt
1 free-range chicken
1 telegraph cucumber, seeds removed if preferred
70ml rice vinegar
2 tsp grated palm sugar
Juice of a lemon
2 coriander roots
1 small red chilli, sliced
Small handful of rose petals, washed
1 In a large pot big enough to hold the whole chicken, fill with water then add one sliced spring onion, ginger, garlic, peppercorns, orange peel and salt.
2 Bring to a boil then submerge the chicken, breast down. Put the lid on and bring to a simmer then cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat but don't lift the lid, and leave for 45 minutes.
3 Fill a large bowl with iced water, carefully lift the chicken from the water and put into the iced water. Leave for one hour before transferring to a plate and refrigerate. When cold, slice the chicken and skin then combine with the salad ingredients.
4 Slice the cucumber. Heat the vinegar, sugar, lemon, coriander and chilli together, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then pour through a sieve over the cucumber and leave to marinate in the fridge for one hour. Scatter rose petals and thinly sliced spring onion over the salad.
