← Nouns Cooking · Vietnamese

Ingredients

• 400 g chicken breasts or boneless thighs
• ½ onion, for poaching
• 1 tsp Salt
• 300 g green cabbage, very finely shredded
• 100 g red cabbage, very finely shredded (optional)
• 1 Carrot, julienned
• ½ Red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 handful Vietnamese coriander (rau răm) (optional)
• 1 handful mint leaves
• 1 handful Coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
• 4 tbsp Fish sauce
• 3 tbsp Sugar
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp White vinegar
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Red chilli, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed
• 3 tbsp Crispy fried shallots

Method

1. Put the chicken, onion and salt in a pan with enough water to cover. Bring to a gentle simmer and poach for 12–15 min, until the chicken is cooked through (75°C / 165°F). Let it cool in the liquid, then shred it by hand.
2. Meanwhile, soak the sliced red onion in iced water for 10 min to soften its bite, then drain well.
3. Stir the dressing ingredients together until the sugar dissolves. Taste: it should be punchy, sweet, sour and salty.
4. In a big bowl, toss the cabbage, carrot, onion, herbs and chicken with most of the dressing. Leave for 5 min so the cabbage softens slightly.
5. Pile onto a platter, drizzle with the rest of the dressing and scatter with the peanuts and crispy shallots just before serving.

Tips

• Contains peanuts. Keep the poaching liquid: it makes a light broth for noodles or rice soup.
• Rau răm (Vietnamese coriander) is peppery and traditional; extra mint and coriander are fine without it.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Vicky Pham Hungry Huy Marion's Kitchen