Weekend herb blogging: Vietnamese chicken salad

Last night I was leafing through Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid and saw their recipe for Vietnamese chicken salad.  I love this salad, but it's been years since I ate it. How does something like that happen?  At one time, I had it for lunch all the time when I worked in Sacramento. As I remember, it was the Big Thing at various restaurants, but they often called it Chinese Chicken Salad. I think I abandoned this salad when I discovered spicy noodles with peanuts.   High time for me to rediscover an old friend.  And the salad contains a lot of mint, so it would be perfect for Herb Blogging Weekend.  Go over to Kalyn's site and have a look at the other Herb Bloggers.

Most recipes for this dish are pretty much the same, except some add carrots or red onion to the mix.  Nigella Lawson calls this Temple Food because it's low in calories, and perfect when you want to recover from a food binge.  She includes one tablespoon of oil, but there isn't a drop of it in the recipe I used.  I used mint as a substitute for Vietnamese coriander, which can be hard to find. Warning: don't use regular coriander because it isn't anything like the Vietnamese variety.  It wasn't available in my grocery store, but that wasn't a problem because I love mint.  I used Napa cabbage, but next time I'll use regular shredded cabbage.  The Napa cabbage wilts quickly, which can be a problem if you don't serve it soon after you pour on the dressing.  Of course, that was no problem for me. I fell on the salad like a ravenous beast as soon as I took a few pictures of it. 

I serve mine on top of hot jasmine rice. It's heaven!

Vietnamese Chicken Salad  (Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid)

2 pounds of uncooked chicken legs or breasts; or 2 cups of cooked chicken

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

3 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons rice or cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste

2 or 3 bird or serrano chilies, minced

2 cloves garlic, or more to taste, chopped

3 shallots, thinly sliced

1 cup bean sprouts

2 cups shredded Napa or Savoy cabbage

2/3 cup Vietnamese coriander, coarsely torn, or sweet basil or 1/2 cup finely chopped mint leaves, plus extra for garnish

Freshly ground pepper

Poach the chicken in water for about 30 minutes until the juices run clear when pierced with a knife.  Remove chicken from cooking liquid and cool, reserve broth for another use.  Chicken can be cooked in advance and placed in refrigerator for up to 48 hours. Return to room temperature for the salad.

Discard chicken skin and shred the chicken to make about 2 cups.

In a small bowl, combine, fish sauce, lime juice, vinegar, chilies, sugar, and garlic.  Separate shallots into rings and add to the dressing. Let stand for 30 minutes if possible.

Blanch bean sprouts for about 30 seconds in boiling water, then refresh with cold water and drain well.  In a large bowl, combine the chicken, bean sprouts, cabbage, and herbs. Pour dressing over and toss gently to blend,

Mound salad on plates, with ground pepper and herb leaves as garnish. Salad may also be served on hot rice or noodles.

Comments

[MM]

This is one of my favourite salads too. Delicious!

[kalyn]

Oh my gosh, this looks absolutely amazing. I have a huge row of mint in my garden (now covered with snow, but I know it will come back.) So I am always looking for things to make with fresh mint.

[Sweetnicks]

The salad looks great!

[Linda]

Oh how I want that cookbook.......
Thank you for putting up the recipe ~ gives me something to try while I wait to justify the splurge ;p

[Cin]

I love both the salad and the cookbook altho' I have yet to make something from it. I like the salad straight up - no rice.

[sher]

MM,

Yes, it's pretty addictive. The mix of flavors is wonderful.

Kalyn,

The mint is perfect with the tangy flavors of the fish sauce and lime juice. And it sure is hardy--and can take over a yard!

Sweetnicks,

It was pretty, but I didn't waste much time admiring it! I ate it too fast.

Linda,

I hope you get the cookbook--it's fabulous. What a life the authors' have--going all over the world, learnng how different cultures cook.

Cin,

I haven't made many recipes from the book, but I'm determined to make rice noodles. It seems like it would be easy.

[Pearl]

Looks SO good and I can't wait to make it! However, I was wondering where to buy Vietnamese coriander? :-O