Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from chef Neil Perry's book Rockpool. Neil also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. For your convenience, we've converted the measures — with as much accuracy as possible — from Australian to American. For those who have metric equipment and wish to follow Neil's recipe to the milliliter, we've included the original measures too.
This dish is a blend of both Asian and Western techniques and flavours, and has been refined over a period of time. My objective was to end up with a layering of textures and flavours that built up from firm and sweet to soft and creamy. If there is one thing Eastern cooking has taught me, it is the balance and interplay of flavours from strong to subtle.
This recipe also uses extra-virgin olive oil alongside tamarind, soy sauce and palm sugar to achieve a full-flavoured dressing that melds all parts of the composite salad together. When cooking Thai and Chinese food it is imperative not to use olive oil as it masks the authentic flavours, but once you understand the balance of these flavours you can start to blend with sympathy, and to create dishes that are in harmony with both their roots. The key to this salad is the same as for any composite salad; all the parts must be of the highest quality. The mangoes should be ripe but not overly sweet and soft. The chicken cannot be compromised, it must be fresh to achieve the right texture. Ensure that all the ingredients are at room temperature. It is ideal if all the preparation is done on the same day, but if that's impossible make sure you take everything out of the fridge well beforehand.
