Vietnamese Poached Chicken Salad

Prep Time: ~30 mins

Light, crunchy, aromatic, zingy, fresh and with a welcome hit of heat. These are a few words to describe this simple yet deeply satisfying Vietnamese salad with poached shredded chicken.

• Serves: 2-4

• Prep: ~15 minutes

• Cook: ~15 minutes

Ingredients

Salad

• Skinless chicken breast (600g)

• One large carrot

• White cabbage

• Red onion

• Shallots (2-6)

• Mint (20g)

• Coriander (25g)

• Roasted peanuts

• Bunch of spring onion

• Birds’ eye chilli (4)

• Ginger

• 4-6 garlic cloves

• Two bay leaves

• Black peppercorns

Dressing

• Two limes

• Fish sauce (4 tsp)

• Palm sugar (1 tbsp)

• Rice wine vinegar (1 tbsp)

• Four birds’ eye chillis

• Two garlic cloves

• Ginger (~2 inches)

• Lemongrass (one stick)

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Notes

• Palm sugar: If you don’t have palm sugar, honey can work as a substitute.

Equipment

• Large mixing bowl

• Vegetable peeler

• Large cooking pot

Mise En Place

Dressing

• In a small bowl, add one tablespoon of palm sugar and the juice of two limes. Mix until dissolved.

• Add 4 teaspoons of fish sauce, one tablespoon of rice vinegar, four diced chillis, 2 microplaned garlic cloves, one grated thumb of ginger, and one chopped stick of lemongrass flesh.

• Mix well and set aside.

Salad

• Take a vegetable peeler and make ribbons out of the carrot.

• Finely slice the red onion, shallots, spring onions, and white cabbage.

• Roughly chop the coriander and mint.

• Add everything to a bowl, and mix thoroughly.

Chicken

• Fill a pot with cold water and add the chicken breasts alongside aromatics for poaching.

  • Black peppercorns, shallot or onion, chillis (sliced lengthways), spring onions, garlic cloves, two bay leaves, and a thumb of ginger.

The Cook

Turn a hob to its highest heat and bring the chicken to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and poach for ~15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the pot and let rest for 5 minutes for moisture. Once rested, take two forks shred the chicken and mix it with the salad dressing, keeping some aside for dressing the salad.

To serve, add a portion of salad vegetables and shredded chicken to a bowl and mix well. Roughly chop two handfuls of roasted peanuts and garnish generously. Drizzle over additional salad dressing, and serve with freshly squeezed lime. Enjoy.

If you attempt this dish, let me know how it goes, and if you variate the recipe in any way. This newsletter relies upon word of mouth, so if you know someone who would enjoy this recipe please share it.

Thanks for reading,

Conor