This vibrant salad ticks all the right boxes – healthy, tasty, easy, can make ahead… The crunch of the cabbage and nuts in contrast to the tender moist chicken and the burst of flavor from the dressing is a terrific combination. I love the fact that I can do the chopping and prepare most of it in advance so all that is required is to simply cook the chicken and dress and arrange the salad on the plates at dinner time.  This is one you could bring to a BBQ or serve for a lunch with your girlfriends.   I find salads a really easy dinner option, especially during the week when things are super busy for our family and there is not much time for cooking. Luckily, my husband is happy to eat salads too, however for him a salad needs to include meat to make it a substantial enough meal. Fair enough I say. My young children eat some of the salad variations I make but quite often, I will serve them the meat from the salad (which is usually marinated or seasoned) with some of their favorite vegetables and/or pasta and rice on the side.
 

           

Vietnamese Warm Chicken Salad

 

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 3 medium sized chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup (50 g) roughly chopped nuts (toasted cashews or peanuts work well

 

Salad:

• 4 cups (300 g) mixed salad leaves (try Wombok, ( Chinese cabbage), purple cabbage, rocket or spinach)
• 1 cup (150 g) grated or shaved carrot
• ½ cup (40 g) chopped mint
• ½ cup (45 g) coriander leaves
• 4 shallots, sliced on the diagonal in 1 cm pieces

 

Dressing:

• 1-2 red chilies, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• ½ cup (120 ml) lime or lemon juice
• ¼ cup (40 ml) olive oil

 

Instructions

1. Mix the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well to combine.
2. Pan fry the chicken breasts until cooked through. Thinly slice on the diagonal and set aside.
3. While the chicken is cooking, gently all of the salad ingredients with the chicken and stir through the dressing (note: add dressing gradually as you may not need to use it all).
4. Arrange on the dinner plates and garnish. Serve immediately.

 

Cooking Tips

• Try using a Microplane to shave the carrot for this recipe.

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