VIETNAMESE SHREDDED CHICKEN SALAD

I love making this recipe during summer, as it is fresh, light and filling. If you are looking for a substitute for chicken, 300g of tofu will do nicely. Don't be put off by the ingredients list and cooking steps, as this salad is really quite simple to make. It also serves EIGHT, which is wonderful for those of you out there that are not cooking crazy and want a dish to last you lunch and dinner for several days.  I've kept this salad as basic as possible, however you could add red cabbage, ginger, coriander, mint and other vegetables and herbs. 

INGREDIENTS

Salad

• 2 x 250g chicken breast fillets, fat removed 
• 300g wombok (Chinese cabbage), finely shredded
• 2 large carrots, grated
• 250g cucumber, roughly chopped
• 100g green beans, trimmed and roughly chopped 
• 3 green shallots, finely chopped
• 200g rice vermicelli noodles 
• Optional- extra shallots, fresh coriander 

Dressing

• the juice of 3 large limes or 4 small to medium limes 
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• approximately 6 tablespoons water 
• 4 tablespoon soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 

COOKING

1. *Because step 1 involves poaching the chicken, which takes around 25 minutes, you can use this time to prepare the vegetables*.  Place the chicken breasts in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, covered, then simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the stove and let the saucepan stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Remove the poached chicken from the pan and leave to cool for a few minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl and stirring well. Taste the dressing as you go and add more of any ingredient if need be. 

3. When the dressing is finished, soak the noodles in a large bowl or pot with boiling hot water. Make sure all the noodles are covered with water and leave to stand for 5 minutes or until the noodles are soft. Drain well in a colander or large sieve and rinse with water until cool enough to handle. I like to cut the noodles with kitchen scissors so they are easier to toss and serve. 

4. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into small pieces. 

5. Combine the shredded chicken, wombok, grated carrot, cucumber, green beans, shallots and cooked vermicelli noodles in a large serving bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the top and toss well to combine. Serve, topped with extra chopped green shallots or coriander, if you wish. 

Serves / 8 as a main

Total Preparation time & Cooking time  / approx 35 minutes

x Emily