Goi ga (Crunchy Vietnamese chicken salad)

Adam Liaw used to make this Vietnamese chicken salad on heavy rotation, until rising herb prices made it less affordable. Now with a thriving home garden, it’s the perfect dish to use when the garden is bursting with mint and other fresh herbs.

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast
• 1 tbsp salt
• 150 g thinly shredded cabbage
• 150 g thinly shredded red cabbage
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup loosely packed mint, roughly torn
• 1 cup loosely packed coriander, roughly torn
• ½ cup loosely packed Vietnamese mint leaves
• 2 - 3 leaves Vietnamese perilla, shredded
• 1 small carrot, thinly julienned
• ½ cup fried shallots, to garnish
• ½ cup crushed roasted peanuts, to garnish

For the nước chấm dressing

• 1 red bird’s eye chilli
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tsp sugar
• ¼ cup (60 ml) lime juice
• 1 tbsp fish sauce

Instructions

1. To make the nước chấm dressing, pound the chilli and garlic in a mortar and pestle to a thick paste. Stir through the sugar and lime juice, tasting to ensure a good balance of sweet and sour. Stir through the fish sauce and ¼ cup of water, then set aside.
2. To poach the chicken, combine 1.5 litres water and 1 tbsp salt in a small, heavy-based saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken breast, turn off heat, cover tightly and stand for 20 minutes. If you like, use a thermometer to test the internal temperature of the chicken breast. It should be about 62-64˚C. Sprinkle some salt on your hands and shred the chicken into thin strips.
3. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, nuoc cham dressing and remaining salad ingredients. Scatter liberally with the fried shallots and peanuts and serve.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.