Vietnamese chicken salad
SERVES 4-6 500g chicken breast
fillets
1kg Chinese cabbage (or bok choy or green cabbage), end removed, quartered lengthways and thinly sliced 300g carrots, coarsely grated or cut into very thin matchsticks
6 spring onions, ends
removed, thinly sliced
1 large handful mint, leaves
only, coarsely chopped 2 large handfuls coriander, leaves only, coarsely chopped
50g unsalted roasted peanuts,
lightly crushed
2½tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
VIETNAMESE DRESSING
2 long red chillies, seeded
and coarsely chopped 2 garlic cloves, coarsely
chopped
100g light brown sugar 2tbsp white rice vinegar
or cider vinegar
100ml lime juice – about
4 limes
100ml fish sauce
1 Trim any visible fat or sinew off the chicken fillets. In a wide saucepan, bring 1.5L of well-salted water to the boil over high heat and then add the chicken. Turn the heat down to a low simmer and gently poach for 10min. Turn the heat off, cover with lid and let the chicken continue cooking for a further 10min.
2 Remove with tongs and allow to cool until it’s stopped steaming, then cover and refrigerate.
3 For the Vietnamese dressing, mix all the ingredients in a small food processor bowl or a stick blender container and blitz for a couple of min, until well blended. Taste for balance and adjust to your liking.
4 When ready to serve, shred the chicken breasts with your fingers into rough, bite-sized pieces. Mix the Chinese cabbage, carrots, spring onions, mint and coriander in a large bowl. Add half the dressing, half the chicken and half the nuts and seeds and toss it all together. Arrange on a platter and scatter with the remaining chicken, nuts and seeds, drizzled with the rest of the dressing.
5 Serve the salad on its own or with prawn crackers. HB