Vietnamese Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- Salad:
- ▢350g/12oz cooked chicken cut into thin batons (2 large cooked breasts, Note 1)
- ▢6 heaped cups wombok cabbage Napa cabbage, finely shredded (Note 2)
- ▢1/2 red onion very finely sliced (so it’s floppy)
- ▢1 red capsicum / bell pepper finely sliced into thin batons
- ▢2 cucumbers remove seeds then finely sliced into half moons (or 1 long continental/English cucumber)
- ▢1 large carrot peeled then julienned (I use a shredder)
- ▢1 large chilli deseeded then julienned, optional (Note 3)
- ▢1 cup tightly packed mint leaves , large leaves roughly torn by hand (Note 4)
- ▢1 cup tightly packed coriander/cilantro leaves (Note 4)
- Dressing:
- ▢2 tbsp lime juice
- ▢2 tbsp rice vinegar
- ▢1/4 cup fish sauce sub light or all purpose soy sauce
- ▢1/4 cup canola oil or vegetable, grapeseed, peanut
- ▢1 tbsp white sugar
- ▢1 large garlic clove very finely minced
- ▢2 tsp red chilli deseeded then very finely minced (birds eye or Thai Red Chilli best, Note 3)
- Finishing:
- ▢1/2 cup peanuts roasted unsalted , finely chopped (~1/3 cup once chopped, Note 5)
Instructions
- Dressing: Shake Dressing ingredients in a jar. Set aside 10 minutes to let flavours meld.
- Toss: Place all Salad ingredients in a very large bowl. Pour over half the Dressing and toss well. Set aside 5 minutes (veg will soften slightly, making it more "slaw-like").
- Toss again: Just before serving, toss again then add most of the remaining Dressing. Taste then add more Dressing if you want.
- Serve sprinkled with lots of peanuts! (Note 6)
Notes
- 1. Chicken – Any cooked chicken is fine here, I just used both breasts from a store bought roast chicken. If cooking your own, use my Foolproof Juicy Poached Chicken (it is excellent for this recipe because the breast is so tender it “flops” and really melds in with the rest of the salad!)
To cut into batons, cut slices then cut the slices into batons about 1/2cm / 1/5″ thick. The drier bits of chicken will end up sort of shredding which is ok too. - 2. Wombok cabbage / Chinese cabbage – also called Napa Cabbage in some countries. See video for how I shred this cabbage – cut two slits then finely shred. I only use the top 2/3 as the base tends to be a bit too thick and crunchy with stems (but ideal to use in stir fries and stir fried noodles!).
Best sub is iceberg lettuce but serve immediately, do not set aside for 5 minutes before serving as instructed in recipe. Green cabbage will also work but you will need to toss with some dressing and set aside to let it wilt for 30 min or so before adding rest of ingredients. - 3. Chilli – 2 teaspoons gives this a slightly warm tickle and is not really spicy. Split in half lengthwise, scrape out the seeds then finely chop.
If you’re concerned about spiciness, use the large red chillies instead (cayenne pepper), they are less spicy. If you don’t want spicy at all, skip it (but a hint of heat really is great in this!)
Chilli for salad – An optional extra for visual aesthetics and an extra hint of heat, use a large red chilli (cayenne pepper) in the salad as well. Cut in half, scrape out seeds, then finely slice into strips. - 4. Coriander/cilantro and mint – Really jam pack the leaves into a cup to measure them out. When not tightly packed in, you’re measuring out only half needed amount. We want to use lots! Fresh herbs are key to Vietnamese food!
Mint – I use ordinary mint here not Vietnamese mint (which has a bit of a peppery flavour and is a bit much when used in large volumes like I do here)
5. Peanuts – Use roasted, unsalted, and finely chop it so you get some “dust” (my favourite because it soaks right through into the salad!)
Peanut alternative – Cashews are best, though sunflower seeds or pepitas would be lovely too! - 6. Serving: If serving individually, sprinkle each serving with a generous amount of peanuts. If letting people help themselves, sprinkle the salad with half the peanuts and have extra so people can help themselves for their own bowls. Remember: do not skimp on the peanuts!
- 7. Storage – It won’t keep so well once dressed, as the cabbage will wilt quite heavily and drop water. If you want to make ahead, chop all your ingredients and simply dress at the last minute.
- 8. Nutrition per serving, assuming 3 (very big) servings.