Jul 14

Jul 14 Za'atar Tahini Chicken Vermicelli Salad 札塔香料麻醬雞絲拉皮

Chicken vermicelli salad is a classic Chinese summer cold dish that I grew up eating a lot. The original recipe use peanut sesame dressing and it is so creamy and delicious. To give this well-loved dish a little middle eastern twist, I added tahini and za’atar mix to the dressing with some minced chili on top to give the final taste a little kick.

The dish is pretty easy to put together, the only step that requires the stove is to cook the vermicelli and chicken breast. The dressing and all other ingredients can be prepared in advance as well. The vermicelli itself tastes the best when it’s freshly mixed with the rest of the ingredients, the noodle tends to get hardened if you put it in the fridge, so the best way is to enjoy the dish fresh!

Za'atar-Tahini Chicken Noodle Salad 香料芝麻醬雞絲拉皮

Ingredients

Boneless skinless chicken breast, 1
Wide vermicelli, 100g
English cucumber, ½, julienned
Red chili, 1, thinly sliced
Za’atar tahini, 2 TBS **see note
Soy sauce 1 tsp
Rice vinegar 1 tsp
Sesame oil 1 tsp
Urfa pepper for topping

Instruction

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Boil the chicken breast until fully cooked. About 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickness. Remove from the pot and set aside to cool. Set 100ml of the cooking water from the pot aside. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it into thinner pieces.
In the same pot of water, cook the vermicelli for about 7 minutes until they turn opaque. Set aside to cool.
Mix the tahini, and 100ml of cooking water that was set aside together, start with 3 TBS, and add more, one TBS at a time to reach a thick but pourable consistency. Mix in the za’atar, the rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil together.
Once the chicken and vermicelli are completely cooled, place the vermicelli on a serving plate, layer on the cucumber, top with the shredded chicken. Drizzle on the tahini dressing, scatter on the chili slices and sprinkle on some urfa. Serve with some extra dressing on the side.

Note