Recipe: Chicken Salad With Carrot, Daikon, Hot Mint & Coriander
This light, refreshing salad is one of the supper club favourites! Its the perfect Vietnamese dish because it is all about satisfying the sweet, sour, salty and umani taste buds as well as being crunchy and silky in texture. Serve with massive prawn crackers! Always use the best fish sauce you can afford, it makes a huge difference to the dressing.
Method
Cook chicken thighs in a pot with a lid with 1 litre of fresh cold water.
After about 7 minutes when the water boils, remove the scum that surfaces then add a stock cube. The chicken cooks for 30 mins in total.
Meanwhile, slice the red onion as thinly as you can and pickle with vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl, mixing occasionally.
Peel and julienne the carrots and daikon and place in a salad bowl. Then mix in 2 tbs cider vinegar and 1 tbs sugar to slightly pickle.
Chop the herbs and leave in a separate bowl.
Mix all the ingredients for the dressing together in a separate bowl, tasting for the balance of sweet, sour, salty and hotness. Add more chillies for more spice.
When the chicken is cooked, leave to rest for 5 – 10 mins. De-bone the meat and tear along the grain. Add this to the bowl of carrot and daikon with the pickled onion (discard the vinegar juice). Add the dressing and the chopped herbs. Mix well together.
Garnish with a few sprigs of coriander and mints and a sprinkle of peanuts. Serve with prawn crackers.
