Lemon Cashew Chicken - Crispy "Seaweed" - Creamy, Spicy Potato Salad

click on photo to enlarge

This is an entry for The Second Paper Chef Challenge Four random ingredients, in this case, lemon, chicken, potatoes and savoy cabbage, should be part of whatever recipe you decide to invent. My recipe serves 2.

Lemon Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
For the marinade: 4 tbsp dry sherry - 1 tbsp lemon/pepper oil - 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil - 1" square cube of fresh ginger, grated, 1 tbsp soy sauce - zest and juice of one, large, unwaxed lemon, 1 tsp sugar, 5 thinly slice green onions, salt and pepper to taste.
Meat: 1 large chicken breast, skinned, removed from the bone and cut into bite-sized pieces.
Plus: 1/2 cup dry sherry, a handful of cashews toasted until golden.
Method
Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add chicken pieces and leave for a few hours in the fridge. Cook in a steamer until tender, adding the extra half cup of sherry to the liquid in the pan underneath for added moisture. Before serving, mix toasted cashews with the chicken. Spoon the lemony juices from the bottom of the pan onto the chicken.

Crispy "Seaweed"
Crispy Seaweed deserves an explanation. You might find "Crispy Seaweed" on British Chinese menus. Maybe elsewhere in the world, too, I am not sure. Anyway, often the seaweed is actually no such thing. It is, instead, cabbage, deep fried, drained and then sprinkled with a mixture of equal amounts of sugar and salt. It really is a fantastic (although not necessarily healthy) way to eat up your greens!
Ingredients
Two handfuls of the greenest, darkest leaves of a savoy cabbage shred into the finest slivers possible - 1 tsp sugar - 1 tsp salt - canola oil for frying.
Method
Carefully heat oil until very hot. Carefully add all of the cabbage and fry 2-3 minutes until it is crisp and golden. Turn off the heat. Remove leaves with a slotted spoon and leave to drain on kitchen towel. Stir in sugar and salt to taste.

Creamy, Spicy Potato Salad
Ingredients
Tiny, fingerling potatoes (enough for two) - 2 tbsp mayonnaise - 2 tsp hot mustard powder - 1 tbsp soy sauce - 1 tsp toasted sesame oil - leafy part of a bok choy, thinly sliced - a quarter of green bell pepper, diced, 4 green onions, minced, salt and pepper to taste.
Method
Boil the potatoes, in their skins, until tender. Leave to cool. Crush each potato slightly with the flat side of a knife. In a bowl mix the remaining ingredients together. Leave at least 10 minutes to allow the flavour of the powdered mustard to develop. Add the potatoes and stir until they are coated with the dressing.

Serve all three items in a bowl together. Cold and creamy carbs, warming zesty protein and crispy, crunchy, tasty cabbage. Three contrasting elements that compliment each other effortlessly.

Lemon Cashew Chicken - Crispy "Seaweed" - Creamy, Spicy Potato Salad