Avocado and watercress salad with Sichuan dressing

Avocado and watercress salad with Sichuan dressing

The perfect dish for a hot summer day! I am sure you will get addicted to the kick of the piquant Sichuan spices. You may be able to get the chilli oil from a local grocery shop, but I recommend making your own because you can customize the flavour (I like the floral Sichuan pepper to stand out) and it’s easy to make.   
The summer vegetables are dressed with chilli oil and sweet-sour soy sauce, topped with crunchy garlic pieces and peanuts. 

Recipe by Meiko Nakayama


INGREDIENTS: (serves 4)

  • Medium size avocado   2 (cut into bite size pieces)
  • Baby plum tomato   150g (cut into halves)
  • Watercress   a bunch
  • Fresh coriander   according to taste
  • Roasted peanuts   15g (chop roughly)
  • Ingredients for the sweet sour soy sauce
  • Onion   30g (chop finely)
  • Spring onion 10g (chop the white part finely)
  • Soy sauce   2 tbsp
  • Balsamic vinegar   2 tbsp
  • Sugar   2 tsp


Ingredients for the chili oil 

  • Vegetable oil   30g
  • Garlic   3 clove (slice into 2mm thickness)
  • Onion   60g (chop finely)
  • The green parts of spring onions   20g (cut into 5cm length)
  • Chili flakes   1.5 tsp
  • Ginger   15g (chop finely)
  • White sesame seed    2 tsp
  • Sichuan pepper   ½ tsp (crushed)
  • Sesame oil   15g
  • Soy sauce   1 tsp
  • Sugar   ½ tsp
  • Salt   a pinch


METHOD:

  1. Combine the ingredients of the sweet sour soy sauce and keep it in the fridge for about 1 hour.
  2. Make the chili oil. Put the vegetable oil and garlic in a pan and fry over a low heat for about 10 minutes without burning it so that you transfer the garlic flavour to the oil. Take the garlic chips out of the oil with a slotted spoon and keep them for the topping.
  3. Fry the onion in the same way. Once they get browned, take them out of the oil and put them aside.
  4. Fry the green parts of the spring onions in the same way. After 10 minutes or so, take them out of the oil and you can discard them.
  5. In a heat proof bowl, combine the chili flakes, ginger, white sesame seeds, Sichuan peppers and 5g of the sesame oil. Heat the flavoured oil to 170C, and carefully pour the hot oil into the bowl little by little while stirring it. The oil will sizzle and give off steam when pouring into the spices, please make sure not to inhale the steam, it will make you choke.
  6. Once the oil is cooled, stir in the remaining sesame oil, fried onion, soy sauce, sugar and salt.
  7. Plate chilled avocados, tomatoes, watercress and coriander, pour the sweet sour soy sauce and chili oil over it and sprinkle the garlic chips and peanuts.


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