Chickpea Fritters with Chicken Salad

You don’t need hours in the galley to impress your family or friends. I cooked this for our lunch when we arrived at Koh Phi Phi Don after sailing there from Ao Chalong in Phuket. This recipe is delicious and straightforward. The salad, with flavours of soy, sesame, lime, coriander, and mint, is refreshing and delightful for lunch or dinner. I think this is one of those meals you can cook for your family or dress up a little for an exciting dinner party entree or main course. Play around with garnishes and add a little colour with a sprinkle of chopped red chilli.

*This recipe can serve to up to four people depending on the size of chickpea fritters.

Table of Contents

Chickpea Fritters and Chicken Salad

Ingredients

1 x 439g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained
6 Tablespoons besan flour (or use plain flour)
3 eggs, lightly whisked
5 tablespoons milk
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
Salt & pepper
Oil for frying

For the chicken salad
375ml (1 ½ cup) chicken stock
250 ml (1 cup) water
8 fresh kaffir lime leaves, roughly torn
2 single chicken breast fillets, excess fat trimmed
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/3 cup loosely packed chopped fresh coriander or Thai basil
¼ cup loosely packed shredded fresh mint
1 tablespoon light soy
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons sweet chilli sauce
½ teaspoon sesame oil

Method

Combine stock, water and lime leaves in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and simmer, occasionally turning, for 10 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from heat. Transfer chicken to a heatproof bowl with one tablespoon of the stock mixture. Cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, mash half a can of chickpeas in a mixing bowl using a fork. Add the eggs and milk, and mix well. Add the flour and spring onions, season with salt and pepper, and mix. Add in the other half a can of chickpeas and mix until well combined. Set aside to rest while you make the salad.

To make the chicken salad, shred the chicken and place it in a bowl. Add the coriander, mint, soy sauce, lime juice, chilli sauce and sesame oil to the chicken and gently toss until just combined.

For the fritters, heat the oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add a couple of spoonfuls of the batter into the pan and spread into a round shape. Repeat to make three (or seven *) more fritters. Cook for four minutes or until golden underneath. Turn and cook for a further four minutes or until cooked. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil.

To serve, place one fritter on each plate and top with a small amount of chicken salad. Top with another fritter, and then top with the remaining chicken salad. Sprinkle with finely chopped red chilli if desired and serve immediately.