Vietnamese Lettuce Wraps are a lower-cal version of Vietnamese rice paper rolls. The fresh herbs and peanut dipping sauce are key here! Everything else you can switch: prawns for shredded chicken, fish or even tofu, with any shreddable veg you want. Excellent no-cook meal!

Vietnamese lettuce wraps

These lettuce wraps are not strictly Vietnamese authentic (as far as I know), but they certainly embrace all that we love about Vietnamese food – fresh and light yet never boring, using an abundance of crunchy vegetables, herbs and a killer peanut dipping sauce.

That’s definitely a signature of Vietnamese food – wickedly good sauces that make everything delicious! Honestly, you could just smother a bowl of otherwise bland boiled vegetables in that sauce and it will make it 100% scoff-able!

Ingredients in Vietnamese lettuce wraps

Here’s what you need to make these. Yes there are a fair few components. But once you gather everything, it’s just a matter of a bit of chopping then piling everything on platters for people to help themselves. No cooking! 🙌🏻

The peanut dipping sauce

I’m putting this first because, frankly, it makes you forget you’re eating healthy because it’s so good!

• Natural peanut butter – Pure peanut butter is made with JUST peanuts – no sugar, oil or other additives – so the peanut flavour is stronger. It’s also thinner which makes it more suitable for making sauces – commercial spread will make the sauce much thicker. You’ll find natural peanut butter in the health food section or alongside other spreads in regular grocery stores.

• Hoisin – Sweet and savoury, this is a flavour shortcut so don’t skip it!

• Lime juice – For fresh tang. Substitute with rice vinegar.

• LOW FAT coconut milk – Thinner than full fat (so the sauce isn’t too thick) and also the coconut flavour is not as strong so it doesn’t overwhelm the other flavours. If you only have full fat, that’s fine, just thin it with a little water, directions in the recipe notes.

• Garlic – Because it makes it better.

• Sambal oelak – A chilli paste with flavourings, for a bit of heat. It doesn’t make this sauce spicy. Substitute with any other chilli sauce or paste (just add a bit and taste) or feel free to leave it out.

• Dark soy – Deepens the sauce colour and adds flavour plus salt. You can substitute with regular or light soy sauce, but the sauce colour will be a bit paler.

• Sugar – For a touch of sweetness. If you use full fat coconut milk or commercial peanut butter spread, you might not need this.

• Salt – Just the soy isn’t enough, and adding more made it too soy-saucey, I found, and overtook the peanut flavour. So I switched to adding a bit of salt.

THE LETTUCE WRAPS

• Prawns/shrimp – Here in Australia, we are blessed with great prawns! Sold pre-cooked, boiled straight out of the water to lock in freshness. However, feel free to cook your own, I’ve included directions in the recipe notes.

  Other protein options – Because the peanut sauce is so good, you can literally use any protein even if it’s plain! Think – shredded poached chicken, or leftover pan-fried fish or salmon (flake into big chunks), and even non-Asian foods like bits of roast beef. And of course, leftover Lemongrass Chicken or Pork would literally be perfect.

• Lettuce – Use any lettuce you want suitable for wrapping or stuffing. I’ve used baby cos (romaine) which are nice and crisp, which are natural boat-shapes making them ideal for making lettuce wraps. Butter lettuce, which have soft leaves so they wrap without breaking, are also ideal. Iceberg lettuce can also be used.

• Beansprouts – Perky and fresh, and no chopping! (Tip: Store in a container of water, fully submerged, change the water every couple of days. They will stay fresh for a week, compared to 2 – 3 days in the bag).

• Cucumber – Julienned. Not too finely, a bit of crunchy is nice!

• Fresh herbs – The classic combination of mint and coriander/cilantro, to be used in abundance! For those of you who can’t stand coriander/cilantro, use more mint plus chives and/or green onion (cut into batons).

• Vermicelli noodles – or glass noodles. These fill out the meal a bit so it’s not just vegetables. But if you’re really counting carbs, you could omit them or opt for a lower-carb option like konnyaku (konjac) which are the famous Japanese zero-calorie noodles that you can even find in regular grocery stores these days (like this one at Woolworths in Australia).

• Peanuts – for sprinkling.

• Birds eye chilli – for an optional hit of fresh heat and a lovely sprinkle of red colour on the platter.

QUICK PICKLED VEGETABLES – optional!

You can totally just use plain carrots, finely julienned using a shredded or box grater, or some nifty knife work.

Or you can add great extra flavour into your wraps by making Vietnamese pickled vegetables! These are the same pickles used in Banh Mi and it’s one of the things that makes it so special: the crunch with the tang balanced with a bit of sweet. Here’s what you need:

• Carrot and daikon (white radish) – These are two pickled vegetables commonly used in Vietnam, including in Banh Mi. They are cut into thin batons so you get a terrific crunch (albeit pickled-softened-crunch!) when you bite in them. Don’t be tempted to shortcut cutting the vegetables by using a box grater. I tried (the lazy cook in me couldn’t resist) – and it just wasn’t the same. A big vinegary pile of coleslaw-like mush. I missed the crunch!

• Rice wine vinegar – This is the vinegar used for the pickled vegetables, an Asian vinegar made from rice. Substitute with apple cider vinegar.

• Salt and sugar – For pickling. These pickled vegetables are a bit sweet and bit salty, nice balance between the two.

How to make Vietnamese Lettuce Wraps

It’s no cook, if you use pre-cooked prawns like I do!

1. Soak vermicelli noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes (or whatever your packet says). Then drain, rinse under water (so they don’t stick together) and allow excess water to drain off thoroughly before using (about 5 minutes in the colander).

2. Quick pickled vegetables – Dissolve the sugar and salt in hot water, then mix in the vinegar.

3. Pickle the carrot and daikon for 2 hours then drain. Or keep them in the pickling liquid for weeks!

4. Cut the prawns in half horizontally and remove the vein (that’s a nice word for poop shoot which I really wanted to avoid writing, but for clarity, decided I better include it 😂).

   I like to cut the prawns thinner because they sit inside lettuce wraps better. I find whole prawns a little too chunky, though if I was using small prawns I would use them whole.

Lay it all out on a platter

Basically, once the above prep has been done, you just lay everything out on a giant platter or in various bowls, plonk it on the table and tell people make your own dinner! 😂

ASSEMBLING THE LETTUCE WRAPS

And as for the lettuce wrap part, there really are no rules. But here’s a guide for the order in which I do it:

1. Noodles first then whatever vegetables you want to add. Because – newsflash – you don’t have to stuff everything you see on the platter into every lettuce wrap!!

2. Prawns – Top with prawns and stuff the herbs down the side.

3. Sauce – Drizzle with sauce, sprinkle with peanuts and chilli.

4. Then bundle it up and bite!

And there you have it. Another one of my DIY spread meals. I’m a big fan of these for gatherings! Take more of what you like, avoid the things you don’t. Everything can be prepared well in advance, piled onto the platters then kept in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

Bonus: It travels well. In fact, I sent the platters you see in this post to my team at RecipeTin Meals. They cook for the vulnerable 5 days a week, so it’s the least I can do to cook for them every now and then. (Well, technically shoot leftovers…..same, same! 😈).

Got more suggestions for fillings? Share them below so others can read your ideas! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Print

Vietnamese Peanut Sauce Lettuce Wraps

Recipe video above. Such a great DIY summer spread, a regular all through summer in my circles! It's essentially a lower-cal version of Vietnamese rice paper rolls. The fresh herbs and the peanut sauce are key here! Everything else you can switch: prawns for shredded chicken, pan fried salmon or other fish (flake into big chunks) or even tofu (I pan fry batons). Use whatever shreddable veg you want.

Emergency version: store bought roast chicken (shredded) + packet shredded coleslaw veg + peanut sauce + noodles. SO GOOD.

Course Light mains, Mains

Cuisine Vietnamese

Keyword Lettuce wraps, vietnamese lettuce wraps

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4 as a meal

Calories 320cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

The lettuce cups:

• 300g / 10 oz peeled whole cooked prawns/shrimp , medium (600g/1.2lb unpeeled whole prawns – this is what I use) – Note 1
• 75g / 2.5 oz dried vermicelli noodles (or glass noodles or rice)
• 12 large or 16 -20 small lettuce leaves (I used baby cos/romaine), eg iceberg, butter lettuce

Veg and herbs:

• 1 batch quick pickled carrots and daikon , below *recommended* OR 2 carrots finely julienned (use plain)
• 2 cups beansprouts
• 2 cucumbers , julienned
• 2 cups mint leaves
• 2 cups coriander/cilantro sprigs (sub with chives + extra mint)
• 3 birds eye red chilli , finely sliced (optional)
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts , finely chopped (recommended)

Vietnamese Peanut Sauce:

• 2 tbsp natural peanut butter , smooth (ie not sweetened) – Note 2
• 2 tbsp hoisin
• 1 – 2 tbsp lime juice , sub rice vinegar
• 1/3 cup LOW FAT coconut milk (Note 3)
• 1 large garlic clove , finely grated
• 1 tsp+ sambal oelak (or other chilli sauce/paste of choice), can omit (adj to taste)
• 1 tsp dark soy (Note 4)
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt

Quick pickled vegetables

• 2 medium carrots , peeled cut into 2 mm / 1/10″ batons
• 1/2 large white radish (daikon) , peeled, cut the same as carrots
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
• 3/4 cup rice wine vinegar (sub apple cider vinegar)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Pickle first – Put the boiling water, salt and sugar in a bowl. Mix to to dissolve, then add vinegar. Submerge vegetables and leave for 2 hours. Drain then use per recipe (or store in fridge submerged in liquid).
• Peanut sauce – Mix the peanut sauce ingredients and set aside for the flavours to meld while you prepare the platter. Start with 1 tbsp lime juice and add more if you want tarter.
• Prawns (shrimp) – Cut the prawns in half horizontally and remove the vein.
• Noodles – Soak the noodles in boiling water per packet directions. Rinse under cold water (to prevent stickiness) then drain very well.
• Lay it all out – Pile everything onto a giant platter or put things in little bowls, then let everybody help themselves!
• Assemble – Here's my order: lettuce leaf, noodles first, then veg* (carrots, bean sprouts etc), prawns, stuff herbs down the side, drizzle with sauce, sprinkle with peanuts and chilli. Bundle and bite!

Notes

* Sometimes I like to be a rebel and not use all the veg in every lettuce wrap, especially if I’m using small lettuce leaves. Just put what you want in your lettuce wrap!

1. Or cook your own – just toss 300g/10oz raw peeled prawns with a little salt and pepper. Preheat oil in non stick pan on high and cook each side for 1 1/2 min (medium) to 2 minutes (large ones), then remove.

2. Natural peanut butter is just peanuts, no sugar no salt. Flavour is more intense and it is runnier than peanut butter spread which makes it idea for sauces. Mix well before use as it separates if not used regularly. Can sub with peanut butter spread but your sauce will be thicker with slightly less peanut flavour.

3. Low fat coconut milk is thinner which makes the sauce not too thick. If you only have full fat, that’s fine, use 1/4 cup then top up with water.

4. Dark soy is more intense flavoured than regular and light soy, and darkens sauce colour. But you can substitute with light or all-purpose soy (more on difference soy sauces here).

Leftovers – The peanut sauce will keep for 4 days in the fridge or freezer for 3 months. 

Nutrition assumes all the sauce and vermicelli noodles are consumed, and half the pickles. You probably won’t use all the pickles but you’ll be fine with that because they last for weeks and weeks in the fridge!

Nutrition

Calories: 320cal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 1075mg | Potassium: 748mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 7316IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 167mg | Iron: 3mg

Life of Dozer

This is how he kicked off the new year – begging for the very croissant we just gave to Jeff*. Shame on you Dozer. Shame on you! 😂

* Jeff is a local who lives at Bayview dog park in the northern beaches of Sydney where I lived for 10 years until 10 months ago. I still take Dozer for a romp at the beach regularly! Jeff is a big reason why people travel from all over Sydney to visit Bayview dog park – because he is the reason why the park is so pristine.

The post Vietnamese Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Here’s what we put on our seafood platter, a staple on Christmas Day for the RecipeTin Family! Our top tips for what to get, where best to spend your money and where not to, and our favourite seafood sauces. Plus, a video at the Sydney Fish Markets – watch me choose the seafood!

A lifetime of eating seafood!

In today’s recipe, I’m sharing all the items we put on our seafood platter – a staple on Christmas Day! We love the ease (mostly no-cook, just assembling) and because it’s a treat reserved for special occasions. Australian seafood is incredible, but good quality seafood is not cheap!

This is why we are pretty meticulous with research and taste-testing our seafood – we even write nerdy notes to ourselves as reminders, to refine our purchases for the next shop. Because there’s nothing more disappointing than spending hard-earned money on expensive crab only to find it tastes completely bland.

So this post today is essentially our shopping list of what we include on our seafood platter. Learn from all the tips we have picked up over a lifetime of seafood eating, and watch me buy the seafood at the Sydney Fish Markets to put the seafood platter together in today’s video!

SUMMARY – What we put on our seafood platter

Here is a summary list of what goes on our seafood platter. Please see below sections on the why, why not, and extra tips. Note: I’m in Sydney, Australia.

1. pre-cooked seafood, served cold

This is the seafood we get that we purchased pre-cooked, or seafood that is served raw. Everything we get is Australian – we specifically ensure it is because we know it will be better.

1. Prawns (pre-cooked) – Tiger, king or banana prawns.

2. Oysters – Pacific or Sydney Rock (Tasmanian and Merimbula oysters are my favourites)

3. Morton Bay Bugs (over Balmain Bugs) – Pre-cooked.

4. Blue swimmer crabs (best over 350g) – Pre-cooked. Alternatively: Spanner crabs, but read crab section below (including king crab & mud crab advice).

5. Sashimi – Kingfish, tuna, salmon are most common

6. Smoked salmon – Sold in packets, I only get Huon (Tasmanian).

7. Dipping sauces – Our Family Favourite Seafood Sauce, and Tartare or Marie Rose sauce (recipes here)

TIPS: Seafood quality is better at fish mongers and the fish markets, one reason being they look after it better than large chain grocery stores. For all the above, we only get Australian, and seafood that’s undergone as little freezing as possible. The freshest seafood has never been frozen: caught and sold ideally on the same day. However the reality is some seafood has to be snap frozen at sea before reaching market and is sold thawed. This includes even cooked prawns at the fish markets during Christmas time. Done properly, excellent seafood quality is still maintained.

But the point is, the less freezing-thawing cycles, the better. The worst is: Caught > frozen > thawed > cooked > frozen > thawed (like cheap lobster at grocery stores likely is). Quality degrades with each step!

2. luxury seafoods – ONLY BUY if you can afford quality

Here are the top-ticket seafood platter signatures that we strongly recommend only buying if you can afford good quality. And by no means will your platter be any less delicious without them! These are not regulars on our seafood platter.

1. Lobster (crayfish) – Not worth it unless you can afford $100+/kg for high quality lobster. The cheap grocery store lobsters are rubbish (sorry, but they are). Lobster serving recipes here.

2. King crab (~$90/kg) – Everybody loves the big meaty crab legs! While they are sold pre-cooked for convenience, we find the pre-cooked product very hit and miss. King crab is imported which can also play a part in the variability of quality. So we stopped buying pre-cooked king crab after too many disappointments for such an expensive food. Want king crab? Best buy raw legs and cook it yourself.

3. Mud crab (~$90/kg) – Buy it live and cook it yourself (here’s how to prepare mud crab). You don’t see often see frozen or cooked mud crab. If buying cooked mud crab, check with the seller how fresh it is and when it was alive (we are suspicious by nature and assume it was half dead so they cooked it).

3. SEAFOOD WE COOK (SOMETIMES)

While our seafood platter is mostly comprised of cold pre-cooked seafood, if we do have cooked seafood, these are the dishes we most commonly include.

1. Baby octopus – Purchased in bags frozen or raw, marinated then BBQ’d until the legs are charred and crispy! Rare seafood item that freezes well.

2. Mussels – Cooked ahead and served at room temperature (it’s so great!). Mussels are a rare seafood item that vac packs well. Our favourite brand are Kinkawooka blue mussels (best quality, juiciest!) – look for the purple bag, sold even at regular grocery stores.

3. Salt and pepper squid – 3 years in the making, we finally cracked the perfect salt and pepper squid! This is on the RecipeTin Family Christmas menu for this year. Recipe coming before Christmas…

4. STANDARD SIDES

Here are the standard sides we serve alongside a seafood platter:

• Good bread (I love using my Crusty Artisan Bread recipe) with good butter or good extra virgin olive oil – Always!

• Potato salad or macaroni salad – … sometimes

• A Show-Off Salad like this festive Apple Salad with Candied Walnuts and Cranberries or Pomegranate Salad (more Show-Off Salads here)

And honestly, that’s all we do. We keep it simple to let the seafood shine! Also, because Christmas should be about be relaxing not slaving in the kitchen, is our motto.

5. GOING THE EXTRA MILE

If we’re feeling particularly inspired or have VIP guests, we will go the extra mile and add “special” extra dishes. Things we reach for include:

• Christmas Baked Salmon – A big statement side of salmon that’s made for Christmas festivities!

• Crispy Beer Battered Fish – and I exaggerate not when I say they are crispy and stay crispy!

• Crispy Homemade Fries – they’re crispy even long after they cool

• Store bought potato gems (tater tots) – I’m not even going to pretend we attempt to make these. We buy frozen, we love ’em, and I’m not ashamed to tell the world! For special occasions, we even deep fry them instead of baking (OMG I know, you’re horrified).

• Chinese Honey Prawns – OMG YES!!! Crunchier than you’ve ever had at any Chinese restaurant, these will blow your mind!

• Singapore Chilli Crab – A big, giant, statement main.

• Whole Baked Fish – The dill butter sauce is everything….

• Any other seafood or fish recipe – here’s the full collection.

Perfect Crispy French fries

Christmas Baked Salmon: Easy & Make-ahead

Crispy Beer Battered Fish

Singapore Chilli Crab

Whole Baked Fish – Snapper with Garlic & Dill Butter Sauce

Honey Prawns – stays crispy!

Fish recipes

5. seafood sauces

With the above fresh seafood, we simply serve with fresh lemon wedges and two sauces (recipes here):

1. Family Favourite Seafood Sauce – A family staple. Everybody who’s tried this sauce loves it! It’s essentially a mash up of Marie Rose Sauce and Tartare sauce with the added freshness from dill. It’s a bit special, and always a hit.

2. Marie Rose / Thousand Island – The classic pink sauce.

3. Cocktail Seafood Sauce – A piquant red sauce that goes heavier on the tomato sauce (ketchup).

4. Tartare Sauce – It’s amazing how much better homemade tastes, even using jar mayo. Yet so simple!

5. Thai Chilli Lime Sauce – Tangy with lime and hit of sweet chilli, for a lovely no-mayo fresh sauce alternative.

Our standard choice is the Family Favourite Seafood Sauce plus either Marie Rose or Tartare.

Find all the Seafood Dipping Sauces here.

More about each seafood item

I warned you I have a lot to say about seafood!! 😂 So in this section, I’m delving into more details about each.

Prawns

Prawns are a dependable favourite in Australia, and we are blessed with an abundance of excellent quality prawns! The 3 most common varieties are:

1. Tiger prawns – More salty and savoury.

2. King prawns – More of a sweet flavour. (You’d expect them to be larger, but they aren’t always!).

3. Banana prawns – Sweet, mild flavour, and often more economical

We love them all, and will happily eat any of them.

TIPS

• We buy them pre-cooked – Most Australian prawns are cooked soon after being caught, which locks in freshness and flavour. As long as they are fresh, the quality is excellent. You could also buy them raw and boil yourself.

• Be sure to get Australian prawns because the flavour is superior, the flesh is sweeter, and to support the Australian fishing industry! While most tiger and king prawns are locally sourced, imported banana prawns are more common. Just take note of the display label.

• Avoid pre-packaged prawns. They can be less fresh and stinky, beware! If that’s all you can get, take them out well before serving, give them a good rinse then leave to air dry.

• TOP TIP: Ask for a taste test before you buy!

Moreton Bay bugs – the better value lobster

This is one of our gold nugget tips! 🥰

We prefer to eat Moreton Bay bugs instead of lobster. They taste similar to lobster yet are about 70% cheaper at ~$40/kg. In fact, Moreton Bay bugs (and Balmain bugs) are a slipper lobster and are closely related to rock lobsters, so the flavour similarity is not surprising!

Moreton Bay bugs also have a higher meat-to-shell ratio (30-40% yield) than lobster and are easier to cut. They are more compact in shape, so easier to store too. They are caught on the northern part of Australia’s coast, mostly off the coast of Queensland.

We buy them pre-cooked (orange-coloured) which is the most common way they are sold, though you can get them raw (aka “green”, on the right below) and cook yourself (just boil them).

Balmain bugs vs Moreton Bay bugs – Balmain Bugs are the other species of slipper lobsters sold in Australia. We usually buy Moreton Bay over Balmain bugs, as we prefer the milder flavour, find the quality usually more reliable, and they’re also generally larger. Also, just FYI, despite the name, Balmain bugs aren’t actually caught in the Balmain area of Sydney! They are caught across the southern coastline of Australia, though mainly in NSW. But if you can’t find Moreton Bay bugs, Balmain bugs is a solid alternative.

Oysters

Here in Australia, we have two varieties of oysters: Pacific oysters and Sydney Rock oysters. Pacific oysters tend to be larger, with a fleshy, creamy texture. The flavour is clean and mild. Sydney Rock Oysters tend to be smaller, sometimes with yellow-tinged flesh and have a meatier mouthfeel. The flavour is stronger and more complex than Pacific oysters.

I love both of them!

Both these oysters are grown in various areas across Australia, and the region in which they are grown affects quality and flavour. I am particularly fond of Tasmanian-grown oysters (clean flavour without a bitter finish, and some are gigantic!). Merimbula is a Sydney fine-dining favourite source as are Port Stephens and Batemans Bay. Boomer Bay is a recent one I tried that I enjoyed as well.

Buy them already shucked (ie. opened) and serve with lemon wedges, that’s all you need. Though, if you’d like to try a sauce, 3 of our favourites are coming before Christmas!

Crab

I have a bizarre amount of information to share about crab! Possibly because I love crab but it’s expensive – and it’s a pain to pick out the meat especially if you buy certain types. 😂

So here’s my thoughts on crab:

• Blue swimmer crab (~$35/kg) – This Australian favourite is our preference for value, flavour and quality as long as they are on the large size (350g/ 12 oz+). Anything smaller and the ratio of meat-to-shell is too low, and it’s a pain to pick the meat out of tiny legs. Buy it cooked, or buy raw and cook yourself (just boil).

• Spanner crab (~$35/kg) is also good value but the crab’s anatomy is very different to blue swimmer crabs. The meat is mostly in the body, which is proportionally large while the claws are small and flat. The crab flesh is deliciously sweet. However it is quite fine and more crumbly than other crabs. Buy it cooked. You don’t often see it raw.

• King crab – People love king crab because of the extremely meaty legs and claws, and the firm, sweet flesh. But it’s expensive! We recommend giving frozen cooked king crab a miss. Over the years, we’ve found it hit and miss, as it’s sometimes disappointingly flavourless – such a waste of money 😭. If you want king crab, buy the uncooked legs and cook yourself. Note that king crab is mostly imported and as a general rule, this can affect reliability of quality. Excess freezing really seems to degrade the quality of crab.

• Mud crab – The king of all Aussie crabs! We love it (especially Singapore Chilli Crab), but as it is sold live it is quite expensive and you have to cook it yourself. You rarely see it frozen or pre-cooked. When we do, we are suspicious as it’s hard to know how fresh the crab was prior to cooking.

Cutting crab for serving – directions in the recipe card! There’s even a video.

Sashimi (raw fish)

Yes, we do! Totally at home on a seafood platter 🙂

There’s no need to get loads, just a little bit, for extra variety in the platter amongst all that shellfish. We just go to the sashimi bar at the Sydney Fish Markets and get what looks good or what we feel like. Kingfish, tuna and salmon are favourites, but we love to mix it up if there are other interesting fish varieties on offer.

Smoked salmon

A nice easy one to include on the seafood platter. Everybody loves it, and again, it adds to variety and abundance!

The only smoked salmon I get is Huon Salmon. I know there’s a lot of debate about the sustainability of salmon farming here in Australia. However based on my research (and also a visit to their farms in Tasmania), I believe Huon’s farming practices to be more sustainable than the other major brand here in Australia and imported economical brands, and kinder to local wildlife.

Cooked mussels

A recent addition to our cold seafood platter: cooked mussels served at room temperature. It’s so good! They present nicely if you dice up the vegetables really small so you can scatter them on the mussels for presentation purposes. Serve them in the half shell, spooning some mussel cooking liquor sauce into the shells to keep them moist and add some lovely extra flavour.

The mussels pictured above were cooked using this cookbook recipe but this recipe will also work (similar). Just remember to dice up the vegetables extra small for an elegant look, like pictured above.

Our favourite brand of mussels is Kinkawooka which are available at grocery stores as well as fish mongers. Compared to other brands, the mussels are considerably heavier which means they are meatier and juicier.

Lobster (actually, crayfish)

So, here’s the thing with lobster. It is not a regular on our seafood platters. As noted above, we usually get Moreton Bay bugs instead because it’s so similar but far better value and logistically easier to cut, store etc.

However, I do have knowledge to impart about lobster because I have a friend who catches local lobsters and shares them with me. Also, there was that time during the pandemic when our lobster export industry came to a standstill due to trade tensions with China, so there was an abundance of lobsters usually sold upwards of $100 at fish mongers going for $20 at regular grocery stores.

So I’ve actually developed a fair amount of experience cooking with lobster without shelling out an extortionate amount to buy them!

Buying lobster

If you want lobster on your seafood platter, just to reiterate what I’ve said multiple times earlier, be prepared to pay top dollar for it – $100/kg+. There is honestly no point buying the cheap ones (~$10 tails) at grocery stores, they taste like nothing! You are better off using that budget for more prawns.

Choose Australian lobster – cooked is great (it’s boiled freshly caught at sea). Then head over to my lobster recipes to choose one! There are 6 lobster recipes, all of which are suited for inclusion in a seafood platter, along with how to cut and prepare lobster.

PS It’s crayfish, not lobster

And just for a bit of food trivia: What most people call “lobster” here in Australia technically are not lobsters, they are crayfish. They are almost the same in appearance, but they don’t have the giant pincers that lobsters have in the US and Europe. We don’t have true lobsters here in Australia. 😊

Why we buy pre-cooked seafood

Our seafood platter is predominantly cold seafood that we purchased already cooked. The reason for this is simple – the quality of pre-cooked seafood here in Australia is excellent (if you know what to buy) and it’s convenient.

If you’re thinking – surely raw seafood I cook myself is going to be better – it can be true, but it’s often pricier and extra work to prepare!

Actually, pre-cooked seafood can be some of the best tasting seafood you buy because it’s boiled at sea as soon as it is caught, locking in fresh flavour when it is at its prime. Prawns are a great example of this, with most prawns sold at fish mongers here in Australia sold pre-cooked.

Pre-cooking also deals with the logistical challenge associated with how highly perishable seafood is because it extends the shelf life, as well as making the seafood more affordable for consumers.

Where I buy seafood

For special occasions, I go to the Sydney Fish Markets where you get better selection and more consistently higher quality. But on a day to day basis, I just go to my local fish monger.

I generally do not buy seafood from the grocery store, just because I find the quality is not that great and is not always handled with the care it should be.

I do think though that here in Australia, we are very lucky to have an abundance of good quality seafood, so even seafood from grocery stores is actually not that bad. I’m just a bit fussy – I’d rather indulge in seafood less often and spend a little more to get good quality seafood when I do. That’s just the way I roll.

How we put together the seafood platter

And with all that information and opinions shared, we finally arrive at the serving and eating part!

For the RecipeTin Family, one of the things that appeals to us about a seafood platter is that it’s essentially no-cook, and it’s a cold main which is ideal for hot summer Aussie Christmases. So you literally pull it out of the fridge, pile it up onto platters then serve!

OK, OK. I can give a little more guidance here, in case you’re interested. Here we go:

1. Ice bed – If we have ice, we will spread that onto a big serving platter, tray or multiple plates. This not only keeps the seafood cold, but also provides a nice non-slip bed to put the seafood on.

2. Assembling – Pile the seafood on the ice, randomly scatter lemon wedges around then nestle in bowls of sauces. A few sprigs of parsley might also make it onto the platter – but that’s really going above and beyond. 😂

Laying out the seafood

There’s no rules for the way I lay out the seafood, except logistical considerations:

• Oysters laid out mostly in a single layer or carefully shingled to avoid the oyster juices from spilling

• Mussels laid out the same as oysters so the sauce stays in without spilling

• Prawns, Moreton Bay bugs and crab – piled high (reserve the crab carapace (top shell) for decoration)

• Sashimi – fanned out

• Smoked salmon – randomly draped around

Matters of serving (tip: finger bowls!)

To serve, we put the platters out along with plenty of napkins, bowls for discarded shells and finger bowls of water with lemon slices for people to dip their hands in for a brief clean before diving back in for more seafood.

How else can I help you?

And with that, I think I am done! Or – am I? Are there any critical things I’ve missed? Is there other seafood you’d like to know about? Such as, let’s say, abalone. A highly prized delicacy here in Australia – why doesn’t it make our cut, you may be wondering??

This and any other questions you have, please leave them below and we will do our best to address them and update this post with extra information. I can’t promise I will continue to do this beyond Christmas 2023, but I can promise that we will monitor questions and update this post leading up to Christmas Day. Because the whole purpose of doing today’s post is to help readers who want to put together an amazing seafood platter!

I hope you find this useful and enjoy the little video of my shopping trip to the Sydney Fish Markets to choose and purchase seafood for the seafood platter featured in this post. – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Video of me choosing seafood at the Sydney Fish Markets and putting a seafood platter together:

Also, a little tutorial on how to cut and prepare Moreton Bay Bugs and Balmain Bugs for your seafood platter:

Print

Seafood Platter

Video above! This is what we put on our seafood platter. Our preference is to buy most seafood pre-cooked (boiled at sea) and serve it cold. See the post above for why we choose these items – it's all about best quality and best value for money! Varieties of seafood specified are for Australia.

Top tips: Buy Australian (or locally caught, wherever you are in this world) and where possible buy fresh rather than thawed/frozen (most seafood loses quality when frozen). Don't buy cheap lobster, it's a total waste of money. Get Moreton Bay bugs instead (it's so similar, but cheaper) or more prawns instead. Avoid buying pre-packaged if you can, it's fresher from open displays!

Course Main

Cuisine Australian, Western

Keyword seafood platter

Servings 8

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 2 kg / 3 lb whole prawns , pre-cooked, shell on (Tiger, King or Banana prawns)
• 24 oysters – Sydney Rock or Pacific , love both (Tasmanian, Merimbula and Port Stephens are favourites)
• 4 blue swimmer crabs (400g/14oz+) (not smaller), pre-cooked in shell, whole
• 8 Moreton Bay bugs , pre-cooked in shell, whole (fallback – Balmain Bugs)
• 200g / 7 oz smoked salmon (Huon is the only Australian one I get)
• 250g / 8 oz sashimi , pre-sliced (tuna, kingfish or salmon)
• 1 kg / 2 lb mussels – cooked, served at room temp (Note 5)

Seafood Sauces (choose 2) – all recipes here:

• Cocktail Seafood Sauce
• Tartare Sauce
• Marie Rose / Thousand Island (top pick)
• Thai Chilli Lime Sauce
• RecipeTin Family Favourite Seafood Sauce (top pick)

Other sauces:

• Sauces for oysters (selection coming next week)
• Soy sauce and wasabi , for sashimi

Serving:

• Ice , optional (crushed if you can, else normal)
• Lemon wedges (lots!)
• Parsley sprigs (for decorating, if you're feeling fancy)
• Bowls , to discard shells
• Finger bowls , filled with water and lemon slices
• Napkins (lots!)

Our standard side dishes

• Good bread with good butter or good extra virgin olive oil (Try this easy Crusty Artisan Bread)
• Perky green salad or vegetable sticks (crudites), see in post for suggestions
• Lots of cold beer, wine and champagne!

Extra dishes pictured in post and the video

• Marinated crispy baby octoptus
• The crispiest salt and pepper squid (recipe coming soon!)
• Cheese and crackers (because I just have to!)
• More extras – see notes

Instructions

• Purchase all seafood as close as possible to the serving date. We often do the 5AM shop at the Sydney Fish Markets on Christmas Eve, because we are slightly crazy! We don't order online (we like to choose our own).
• Storage – Cooked seafood will easily keep 2 days, fresh raw for cooking will too if you take it out of the plastic bags, put in a colander or similar and very loosely cover with cling wrap (breathing = less stinky).
• Crab – To cut the crab, follow directions in How to Cut a Whole Crab except DO NOT cut off the claws if you are using a Blue Swimmer Crab. (See note)
• Moreton Bay bug – To cut the bug, flip it on to its back. Cut down through the middle (the shell is not too hard). Clean out the yellow and brown matter in the head, then it's ready to serve. Recipe video above.
• Sauce – Make your sauces of choice. They will be used for dipping prawns, Moreton Bay bugs and crab (I also use for vegetable sticks and bread!). Refrigerate until required (2 days+).
• Mussels – Make mussels, if using. Great served at room temperature on a cold seafood platter.

Assembling:

• Ice (optional) – Cover a large platter with ice. This keeps the seafood cold as well as providing a non-slip bed.
• Pile the prawns, crab and bugs on to the platter. Drape smoked salmon randomly around. Fan out the sushi.
• Oysters – Place them level to avoid the juices in the shells spilling out (what a waste!).
• Mussels – Break off one shell, and serve in the remaining shell. Then place the mussels in a single layer, or shingled (stacked but level). Spoon on a little of the diced vegetables and some reserved mussel cooking liquor.
• Sauce and lemon – Nestle bowls filled with sauces amongst the seafood and scatter over lemon wedges. Serve alongside finger bowls for cleaning and bowls to discard shells, and lots of napkins. Fill glasses with wine, cheers to Christmas! Now dive in!

Notes

Extra suggestions to add on the side: Christmas Baked Salmon, Crispy Beer Battered Fish, Homemade Fries, frozen store bought potato gems (tater tots), Chinese Honey Prawns, Singapore Chilli Crab, Whole Baked Fish any other seafood or fish recipe – here’s the full collection.

---

See in post for more tips and thoughts on each item listed. Summary points below!

1. Prawns – Tiger, king and banana prawns in Australia are all great, though if I had to pick one I’d choose tiger prawns (I love the salty slightly more intense flavour). Watch out for imported – Australian prawns are superior in flavour.
2. Oyster – Both Sydney Rock (smaller, stronger flavour) and Pacific (fleshier, cleaner flavour) oysters are great. These are the two varieties here in Australia. The quality and flavour comes down to where and how they are grown.
3. Moreton Bay bugs – The “better value lobster”!. At ~$40/kg, they’re easier to cut, to eat and have a higher meat-to-shell ratio. There’s really no point getting cheap lobster, tastes of nothing. If you get lobster, you need to spend $100/kg+. Don’t bother with cheap lobster!
4. Crab – Blue swimmer crabs for the best for flavour (in our view) and value, but don’t get small ones <350g/12oz, it’s a pain to get the meat out. Spanner crab is also great but all the meat is in the shell (cut per same directions). Mud crab and king crab – please read in post for our view on these (buy raw, make sure it’s Australian, and cook yourself), they are expensive so get it right!
5. Mussels – cooked using this cookbook recipe or this recipe,  but dice the vegetables very small (to use as garnish on mussels). Cool to room temperature then serve on platter.

Life of Dozer

One of my favourite photos of Dozer in the cookbook. Buried smack bang in the middle of the book, it must be quite a shock for people who don’t know me to be flicking through tasty food photos then suddenly come across this!! 😂 (Page 174, Restaurant Worthy Prawn Linguine).

The post What we put on our seafood platter appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Here’s my classic tuna sandwich. Tuna in oil, not water. Juice from the pickle jar adds tang – oh, and let’s use the pickles too! Dijon for flavour, dill for lovely herbiness, celery for crunch and green onion for freshness. Spread onto your favourite bread and enjoy!

Only homemade tuna sandwiches

One of my dark food secrets is that I’m actually a picky eater. The list of things I don’t want to eat is actually pretty long. Which is why I have to cook.

Case in point – tuna sandwich. There’s just no way I’d ever get one from a food court sandwich shop let alone a pre-packaged one from a servo (that’s a gas service station, for all you non-Aussies out there!). Eewww, bet the bread is soggy, the filling is just nothing but mayo-greasy sloppy with cheap tuna that’s just horridly fishy.

Maybe there are great tuna sandwiches out there. But why risk it when you can eat a sure thing at home, adding zing and freshness to transform fish out of a can into a sandwich filling so good you’ll want to use it as a dip for dunking? (Oh yes I do!)

What you need for Tuna Sandwich Filling

Here’s what I put in my tuna sandwich filling.

• Tuna in oil will make tastier sandwiches than tuna in water. Olive oil is better than just plain oil. But if tuna in water is all you’ve got, don’t hesitate to plough forward!

  Canned tuna types – As with most things in life, not all canned tuna is created equal. Better quality tuna and responsibility fished tuna is pricier.

• Whole-egg mayo has a smoother flavour than ordinary, non-whole-egg mayo which is typically more vinegary and some brands are overly sweeter to my taste. I only stock whole-egg mayo (Hellmans and S&W are my favourite) and Kewpie (also an excellent choice!)

• Pickles – We are using both the pickle and the juice from the jar for the tang and free extra flavour in the tuna mixture. So the pickle type matters! I use your everyday standard dill pickles. Not sweet pickles, not sweet gherkins, not cornichons, not sour pickles, not spicy pickles!

  (Just jesting with the sternest, you can use any pickles you want here. :))

• Green onion – For freshness. Substitute with eschallots (US: shallots) ie the baby onions, or 1/4 cup red onion finely minced.

• Celery – For much needed crunch, else the filling is just mush. Finely minced so it melds in.

• Dill – For herby freshness. My favourite with tuna, though basil and parsley would make great alternatives.

Also: bread of choice (not going to lie. Everyday sandwich bread is my favourite!). And lettuce. For extra perky freshness and soggy-bread-protection.

How to make tuna sandwiches

This is going straight to my “for experienced cooks only” section: Dump everything in a bowl and mix. Don’t be intimidated! I’ll hold your hand through the whole process – I’ve even made a recipe video for you! 😂

1. Tuna filling – Drain the oil from the tuna then put it in a bowl with all the other Filling ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to mix assertively, breaking up the tuna into almost like a paste. Bashing up the celery and pickles to soften the edges and squeeze out a little juices into the filling is encouraged.

2. Make sandwich – Butter the bread, top with 2 slices of lettuce then tuna sandwich filling. Use as much or as little as you want. Clamp the other slide of bread on then cut and eat! See note below the photo for making ahead.

Matters of Tuna Sandwich

And a few final words on the humble Tuna Sandwich:

• Shelf life – The filling itself will keep for 3 days in a normal container or 5 days in a super airtight container (I have these insanely airtight Glasslock containers that extend food life because it’s like vac-packing).

• Sandwich shelf life – To minimise bread sogginess, butter the bread and use a layer of lettuce on each slice to act as a protection barrier. Sometimes I’ll double up, for extra protection. If you do that, your sandwich will be good for a day!

• Number of sandwiches – This recipe makes a generous amount for 4 sandwiches using everyday sandwich bread. You can make more if using smaller bread rolls.

• Scale the recipe – To make more or less, or to scale a recipe to the tuna can size you have, click / tap on the servings and slide. Handy!

As a side note, JB made mayonnaise using the oil we drained from the tuna. Trés cheffy thing to do, awesome tuna flavour, but it makes far more than you need for a single batch of this recipe and I’m not quite sure what to do with the leftover mayo other than make more tuna sandwiches, which means opening more cans of tuna and more leftover oil! 😂 So we didn’t use the homemade tuna mayo in this recipe. But drop a comment below if you want the recipe and JB will jot it down and we’ll pop it in the notes of the recipe card. – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Print

Tuna sandwich

Recipe video above. Here's my version of the classic tuna sandwich. Tuna in oil, not water. Juice from the pickle jar adds much desired tang (oh, I use the pickles too!). Dijon for flavour, dill for lovely herbiness, celery for crunch and green onion for freshness. Spread onto your favourite bread and enjoy!

Makes enough for 4 sandwich-bread sandwiches, or 6 medium bread rolls.

Course Sandwich

Cuisine Western

Keyword Tuna Salad, tuna salad sandwich, tuna sandwich

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 4 – 6

Calories 688cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Tuna sandwich filling:

• 425g/ 15 oz canned tuna in oil , drained (Note 1)
• 3/4 cup whole egg mayonnaise or Kewpie (Note 2)
• 3/4 cup finely diced celery (1 stalk, cut in 4 lengthways, then finely diced)
• 5 tbsp finely chopped dill pickle (Note 3)
• 2 tbsp liquid from pickle jar (Note 3)
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp finely chopped dill (or parsley or basil)
• 1/3 cup finely sliced green onion , ~2 stems (Note 4)
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

For sandwiches:

• 8 pieces butter lettuce (2 per sandwich)
• Salted butter , for spreading
• 8 slices bread or 4 rolls (Note 5)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Filling – Put all the Tuna Filling ingredients in a bowl. Mix well using a wooden spoon, breaking up the tuna so the filling becomes fairly smooth. The pickles and celery will take a beating too which is encouraged -> flavour melding!
• Sandwich – Divide Tuna Filling between 4 sandwiches (or more/less depending on bread size). I butter the bread and use 2 pieces of lettuce per sandwich. Enjoy!

Notes

1. Tuna in oil will make tastier sandwiches than tuna in water. But if tuna in water is all you’ve got, don’t hesitate to plough forward with this recipe! Same recipe works equally well with canned salmon.

2. Whole-egg mayo has a smoother flavour than ordinary, non-whole-egg mayo which is typically more vinegary and some brands are overly sweeter to my taste. I only stock whole-egg mayo (Hellmans and S&W are my favourite) and Kewpie (also an excellent choice!)

3. Pickles – Not sweet pickles, not sweet gherkins, not cornichons, not sour pickles, not spicy pickles. Just your everyday standard dill pickles! Pickled cucumbers are also good, though typically a little softer. (OK, I’m exaggerating, you can use any pickles you want here. )

4. Green onion – Sub with eschallots (US: shallots) ie the baby onions, or 1/4 cup red onion finely minced.

5. Bread – I like using plain, run-of-the-mill white sandwich bread! But, you can get fancy with your artisan stuff you want.

6. Storage – filling will last 3 days in an airtight container, give it a good mix as it gets watery. Assembled sandwich is best eaten fresh though if you want it to last longer, use a piece of lettuce on each piece of bread to provide a soakage protection layer (also don’t skip the butter).

Nutrition for one sandwich assuming 1 tbsp butter is used on white sandwich bread, thick cut (is there any other kind??):

Nutrition

Calories: 688cal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 22g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 1154mg | Potassium: 344mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 711IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 116mg | Iron: 3mg

My canned tuna recipes!

It’s amazing what you can make with a humble can of tuna….

The most amazing canned tuna pasta

Tuna Mornay (Tuna Casserole Pasta Bake)

Nicoise Salad (French Salad with Tuna)

Tuna Pasta Bake

Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice (Nobu)

Canned tuna

Life of Dozer

What to do when there’s loud jack hammering coming from construction next door and you have to record a video voice-over? Hide in the storage room. With Dozer, of course. 😂

The post Tuna sandwich appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

The mighty Cobb Salad has arrived! All the essential players present – juicy bites of chicken, crispy lettuce, chunks of tomato, creamy avocado, salty bacon and creamy blue cheese, arranged in the signature rows. Served with a homemade Cobb Salad dressing. Salad was never so delicious!

Cobb Salad

I feel like I’ve done endless iterations of chicken salad, from Chinese to Vietnamese, Mexican to Thai, not to mention all the various non-Asian ones from the Avocado Ranch pasta one to Lemon Chicken to that one I copied from a trendy San Francisco bistro (<- This was is super good!).

So I was a little surprised that I hadn’t done what is probably the most classic of all chicken salads – the great Cobb Salad! Though actually, it was traditionally made with turkey rather than chicken. But these days chicken is more common, especially for homemade versions.

Though there are various tales about the origins of Cobb Salad, one thing everybody agrees on is that the ingredients should be presented in neat rows on a large bed of lettuce. The presence of blue cheese is also essential – otherwise, it’s just another chicken salad!

Cobb Salad Dressing – sharper than most

Another thing worth mentioning is that Cobb Salad Dressing is a little sharper than standard dressings, with a 50/50 oil to vinegar ratio compared to the usual 1 part vinegar to 3 or 4 parts oil. The slightly tangier dressing works really well here because it offsets the richness of the blue cheese, with the added benefit of lower calories!

Ingredients in Cobb Salad

Feel free to cut the vegetables as you wish. Some like them more chunky, to give the salad a sense of heft. Others prefer them chopped into smaller pieces. It’s entirely up to you!

Cobb Salad Vegetables

Here are the vegetables in a classic Cobb Salad.

• Cos / romaine lettuce – Either 1 large or 2 small ones (“hearts”), chopped into large bite size pieces. You want around 12 cups, lightly packed, slightly heaped. I know, it’s hard to measure! It’s flexible. The recipe has plenty of dressing!

• Tomatoes – Either 2 large ones cut into chunks (I prefer this) or 250g/8oz cherry tomatoes, halved.

• Avocados – Two medium avocados or one really large on.

• Chives – This is an optional garnish. Finely chop then sprinkled on at the end.

Cobb Salad Proteins & Blue Cheese

Not a fan of blue cheese? You’re missing out! 😂

• Chicken – You can either poach your own (you will love my foolproof entirely hands-off method) or use store bought roast chicken. Though not standard, I like to toss my cooked chicken in a little salt, pepper and dressing. Just – more flavour.

• Bacon – These days I tend to cook the strips whole then chop afterwards because it’s less effort. So much easier to cut crispy bacon than raw, and less effort to cook strips than a pan full of lots of tiny pieces that keep popping in my face!

• Blue cheese – There might not be full consensus on exactly what type of blue cheese is the classic to use in a Cobb Salad. But for me, there’s no question: creamy is better than crumbly/drier. Creamy blue cheese smears and gets on “everything”, and everything it touches is tastier!!

  My favourite blue cheese for salads is gorgonzola. Gorgonzola Dolce is my preference for a creamier, rounder blue cheese flavour – this is the more common type of Gorgonzola. Though if you like your blue cheese really sharp, then go for Gorgonzola Picante!

  New to blue cheese? Try Blue Castello. It’s probably the most mild out of all the blue cheese, plus it’s better value.

• Boiled eggs – I like mine soft boiled so the yolks are slightly jammy but not runny. 9 minutes in boiling water – boil the water first, lower eggs in then set the timer! (Boiled egg directions here).

Cobb Salad Dressing ingredients

As noted above, Cobb Salad Dressing is tangier than typical vinaigrettes. To help with thickening (because less oil = thinner dressing), a touch of Dijon mustard is used.

• Extra virgin olive oil – Use the best you can afford! The better the olive oil, the tastier your dressings.

• Apple cider vinegar – Good all rounder vinegar for dressings that’s not as sharp as white vinegar. Substitute with white wine or red wine vinegar.

• Dijon mustard – Adds flavour as well as thickening the dressing which is particularly important here because this dressing uses less oil. So the dressing would be very watery without the dijon.

• Eschallot (US: shallot) – The small onions which are finer than ordinary onions so the minced pieces blend into the dressing better, rather than having lots of big chunks. Also, the flavour is not as sharp as ordinary onions. This adds good value into the dressing so don’t skip it! Substitute with 1 tablespoon finely grated red onion.

• Sugar – Just 1/2 a teaspoon takes a bit of the tangy edge off this dressing.

I’m using a classic Cobb Salad dressing today so there’s no garlic in it. But a finely grated garlic clove certainly wouldn’t go astray here!

How to make Cobb Salad

The presentation of Cobb Salad is one of its defining features. Traditionally, it’s served on a large platter with the ingredients artfully arranged in neat rows. I see no reason to stray from tradition when it looks so good!

1. Dressing – Shake everything up in a jar. It really is a quick and easy way to properly mix dressings so they become thick and creamy as they should be.

2. Cook bacon strips until crisp then chop. (See comment in the ingredients section about my preference to cook first then chop later these days).

3. Poach chicken breast using my foolproof poached chicken recipe. (plonk in boiling water, turn stove off, leave 20 minutes. Works every-single-time, and the chicken is juicy!).

4. Chop & toss – Cool chicken, dice into 2cm / 0.8″ cubes. Toss with salt, pepper and a slosh of Dressing.

5. Assemble – Pile the lettuce onto a large platter or bowl. Arrange the following across the surface in neat rows: chicken, avocado, tomato, bacon, egg. Crumble blue cheese across the surface, then scatter with chives. Serve with dressing on the side.

6. To eat – Let everybody help themselves to the salad, and drizzle on Dressing. Then dive in!

A note on serving Cobb Salad

I serve Cobb Salad by laying out the un-dressed salad on a big platter, then pouring the dressing into a jug. Then I leave everyone to help themselves to the salad and pour over as much or as little Dressing as they wish.

I prefer doing it this way because otherwise you have to toss each vegetable separately in Dressing before laying them out in the signature rows. Which means you end up using quite a lot of dressing, plus the lettuce dressed first ends up a little wilted from the dressing if you spend a little too long fussing with the neat rows (YES I DO!🙈).

Not sure if this is the traditional way to serve Cobb Salad, but it works for me! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Print

Cobb Salad

Recipe video above. The mighty Cobb Salad! Don't skip the blue cheese. It's what makes this a Cobb Salad, and not just another chicken salad. Love the presentation on a big platter with the ingredients in neat rows. Serve Dressing on the side for everyone to help themselves (better than tossing each item individually).

Course Main, Salad meal

Cuisine American, Western

Keyword Chicken Salad, cobb salad

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Chicken cooling 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 706cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Chicken:

• 400g/14 oz chicken breast (2 pieces)
• 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Cobb Salad:

• 200g/7oz streaky bacon strips
• 4 x 9 minute boiled eggs , quartered
• 12 cups cos / romaine lettuce (1 large head, 2 small), chopped (or other crispy lettuce)
• 2 large tomatoes , cut into 8 wedges then halved (or 250g/8oz cherry tomatoes halved)
• 2 avocados , cut into large pieces
• 200g/7oz gorgonzola dolce (my favourite) or roquefort (traditional), crumbled (or other blue cheese – Note 1)
• 2 tbsp chives , finely chopped

Dressing:

• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 5 tbsp apple cider vinegar (sub white wine or red wine vinegar)
• 3/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp eschallot (US: shallot), very finely minced
• 1/2 tsp white sugar

Instructions

• Dressing: Shake ingredients in a jar.
• Flavour chicken: Poach chicken using this method (20 minute foolproof-guaranteed-juicy). Cool to room temperature then cut into 2cm / 0.75” cubes. Toss with salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of Dressing. Set aside.
• Crisp bacon: Place bacon strips in a non-stick pan (not heated, no oil). Turn heat onto medium high – as the pan heats up, the fat will begin to melt. Cook for 2 minutes until golden, turn and cook the other side for 1 1/2 minutes until golden. Drain on paper towels. Once cool and crisp, chop into 1.5cm / 0.6" pieces.
• Assemble: Spread lettuce on a large platter. Arrange the ingredients on top in the Cobb Salad signature neat rows: egg, bacon, avocado, tomato and chicken. Crumble blue cheese across the top, sprinkle with chives. Pour dressing into a jug.
• Serving: Let everybody help themselves to the salad and Dressing!

Notes

1. Blue cheese – It ain’t Cobb Salad if it ain’t got blue cheese on it! I love using creamy gorgonzola because it smears on everything so it sort of becomes part of the dressing. Hence why the dressing is a little tangier than traditional vinaigrettes – you need it, to cut through the richness of blue cheese.

Blue cheese newbies – Suggest using a milder blue cheese like Blue Castello. Adamantly against blue cheese? Feta or goats cheese would be my picks, and suggest adding an extra tablespoon of oil into the dressing to make it a little less tangy.

Nutrition per serving. Shave off 60 calories by using turkey or lean bacon. And the blue cheese accounts for 130 calories. Totally makes it!!

Nutrition

Calories: 706cal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 27g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 133mg | Sodium: 1821mg | Potassium: 1435mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 13271IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 275mg | Iron: 3mg

Life of Dozer

With all the good stuff in this salad, he can’t believe what he was offered.

The post The mighty Cobb Salad appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.