Chinese: Cold Shredded Vegetables with Chicke
Submitted by psmith
A stunning cold Chinese platter of shredded vegetables, wood ear fungus, egg strips, and hand-pulled chicken, layered and dressed in a mustard-ginger-sesame-Chinkiang vinegar sauce. A showpiece salad for special occasions.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
80 minCOOK
20 minREADY
100 minThis is the kind of dish that makes people lean in and stare before they even pick up a fork.
Shredded cucumber, carrot, zucchini, leeks, white radish, and scallions get layered into a colorful mound on a serving platter. Soaked wood ear fungus adds its signature slippery crunch, while thin egg omelet strips fan out from the center like spokes of a wheel.
Hand-shredded chicken weaves through the layers, and tomato wedges ring the outer edge for color.
The dressing brings it all together: dry mustard, ginger juice (squeezed fresh through a garlic press), soy sauce, sesame oil, Chinkiang vinegar, and a touch of fresh tomato juice. It’s sharp, nutty, and just sweet enough to balance everything.
Chef Tips
- Soak the wood ear fungus for a full hour in warm water. Rushing this step leaves them tough and chewy instead of silky.
- Use a mandoline or sharp knife to shred all the vegetables to the same thickness. Uniform cuts aren’t just about looks; they ensure every bite has the same texture.
- Squeeze the ginger through a garlic press to extract pure juice without any fibrous bits in the dressing.
- Cook the egg omelet as thin as possible and on low heat. You want it to set without browning so it stays pale yellow and elegant.
- Assemble the platter just before serving. The salt in the dressing will draw moisture from the vegetables if it sits too long.
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare Dressing: In mixing bowl, mix mustard and sugar; gradually add thin soy sauce, blend to avoid lumping.
Squeeze some peeled ginger root through a garlic press to extract juice.
Squeeze juice from tomato. Add other sauce ingredients; stir well and set aside.
Prepare salad: Wash, then soak, wood ear fungus in 3 cups warm water for 1 hour.
Beat egg; fry very thin omelet in large skillet greased with peanut oil.
Fry both sides gently. Set aside to cool.
Trim leeks, green onions, zucchini, carrots and white radish.
Cut ends off cucumber, but don`t peel.
Peel carrots and radish. Shred vegetables with shredder or cleaver.
Wash tomatoes and cut each into eighths.
Shred chicken with fingers.
Thinly slice omelet into strips. Pour boiling water over fungus and drain.
Cut out hard center and cut floppy ears into thin strips.
Finish: Layer shredded vegetables in center of serving plate, mounding slightly as you build layers of cucumber, carrot, chicken, fungus, zucchini, egg, leeks, radish, green onion and so on, ending with cucumber.
Arrange tomatoe wedge around outer edge.
Working from center of vegetable mound, arrange egg strips like spokes of a wheel.
Add dressing and serve.
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