Light and refreshing Vietnamese-inspired Chicken Salad

The fresh, zesty flavours in this unusual chicken salad come from limes, chillies, fish sauce and other ingredients common in South-East Asian cooking.

Yes, it’s a salad but there isn’t a lettuce leaf in sight!

It is light and refreshing, and the peanuts add a delightful texture.

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Vietnamese chicken and herb salad

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Recipe by Gillian McAinsh Course: LunchCuisine: GlobalDifficulty: Easy

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Total time

50

minutes

So light and refreshing! Perfect for any weather.

Ingredients

• Pickled carrot

• 500 ml (2 cups) white vinegar

• castor sugar

• 1 large carrot, cut in long thin strips

• Salad

• 600 g (half of a small) red or green cabbage, finely shredded into strips

• 2 courgettes, cut in long thin strips

• 1 cup fresh mint, finely chopped

• ½ cup basil, finely chopped

• 1½ cup fresh coriander leaves

• 4 cups cooked chicken, shredded

• ½ cup chopped spring onion

• 1/3 cup lime juice

• Dressing

• ½ cup white vinegar

• ¼ cup fish sauce

• ¼ cup caster sugar

• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

• 1 small hot red chilli, finely chopped

• To serve

• 1 cup roasted peanuts

Method

• To make pickled carrot: combine vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Place sliced carrots in a stainless steel or glass bowl and add vinegar mixture. Marinade for 3 hours or overnight.
• To assemble: place cabbage, courgettes and herbs in a large bowl. Drain the pickled carrots and add to the bowl with chicken, shallots and lime juice.
• To dress: Combine dressing ingredients in a jar, shake well and mix through just before serving. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve, topped with the peanuts.

Notes

• Tip: If you can’t find lime juice, then use 2/3 lemon juice mixed with 1/3 apple juice. This helps to lighten the tartness of lemons and makes the flavour closer to that of limes.

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