Vietnamese Chicken Salad

This is hands down one of my favourite lunches ever.

A light, fresh, healthy meal that is full of punchy flavours to feel so satisfying.

Based on the recipe by Bill Grainger  – I adhere to the tip of shredding up half a roasted chicken to make it super quick and easy - I can whip this up in 15 minutes.

I also like to take the seeds out of the chillies and serve extra on the side if it is not fiery enough - I find chillies too hard to predict!

I lastly like to add a wider range of vegetables for flavour and texture, as well as adding even more healthy nutrients.

Double the salad ingredients to feed more, there is still enough dressing for this.

Pictured: Vietnamese Chicken Salad

Vietnamese dressing

½ red onion, or 3 shallots thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 small red chilies, seeds removed finely chopped

Juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)

¼ cup fish sauce - I recommend the Megachef brand

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon caster sugar

Chicken Salad

½ roasted chicken, shredded into large strips

2 cups finely shredded Chinese cabbage

½ cup basil leaves, Thai basil if possible

½ cup bean sprouts

½ cup coarsely grated carrot

½ cup mint leaves, Vietnamese mint if possible

4 small red radish, finely julienned

½ cup coarsely grated cucumber

Vietnamese dressing - Combine the listed ingredients, stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Chicken salad – Layer the shredded chicken, cabbage, basil, bean sprouts, carrots, radish, cucumber  and mint.

Pour the Vietnamese dressing over the chicken mixture, and toss gently to coat.

Serve with extra chillies on the side for those who want more of a kick to it.

You could also buy some Vietnamese white rolls to serve the salad as a filling instead.

Serves 2- 3 for a light lunch