I love Thai food, and thought that nachos would be a fun, friendly way to familiarize our guests with those flavors. We introduced this dish at our demo station that runs from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and ran out at 1:15. We knew it was hit!

Ingredients

Pickled veggies
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded daikon radishes
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 Thai chili peppers, sliced in half and seeded
1 tsp. lemongrass puree
1 tsp. gochugaru powder (Korean-style pepper)

Nachos
1 pkg. wonton wrappers, cut into quarters
16 oz. white meat chicken, pulled and cooked (hold at 165 F)
2 cups Thai peanut sauce
1 cup sweet red chili sauce, at room temp
2 cups spring mix
2 cups shredded red cabbage
2 jalapenos, thinly sliced
1 cup cilantro
3 green onions, thinly sliced into scallions
1 cup cashew pieces, toasted

Steps

  1. For pickled veggies: In a bowl, combine carrots, radishes, cabbage, rice wine vinegar, sugar, salt, Thai chilies, lemongrass and gochugaru. Refrigerate for 2 hours, drain well and set aside.
  2. For nachos: Fry wonton wrappers until golden brown; place on paper towels to drain and set aside.
  3. For service: Divide wonton chips on to 4 plates. Place hot pulled chicken on top of chips and drizzle with peanut sauce, 1/2 cup per plate. Top chicken with pickled veggies. Drizzle sweet red chili sauce over nachos and garnish with spring mix, cabbage, jalapeno, cilantro, scallions and toasted cashews.

Yield: 4 servings