Vietnamese: Simple Vietnamese Food to Cook at Home
By Uyen Luu
Chicken salad with sugar snap peas, Vietnamese coriander & shallots
GỎI GÀ HÀNH TÍM ĐẬU HÀ LAN
Not Too Tricky
serves 6
About the recipe
This is a version of a classic salad that is seen at all celebrations, even if it is a weekend gathering. Don’t let that stop you from enjoying a burst of flavour on a weeknight. You can use up a leftover roast chicken or buy a cooked rotisserie chicken. You don’t have to poach the chicken from scratch if you have leftovers. But if you do poach a whole chicken you can make Chicken Phở use half the chicken meat for that and half for a salad. Prep the vegetables beforehand and assemble when you are ready to serve.
Recipe From
Ingredients
SALAD
1.5kg (3lb 5oz) whole corn-fed, free-range, organic chicken
400g (14oz) sugar snap peas, thinly sliced lengthways
10 radishes, thinly sliced
10 Vietnamese coriander (cilantro) sprigs, leaves picked (or Thai basil, mint or coriander), roughly snipped
small handful of coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
handful of roughly chopped pistachios
seeds of ½ pomegranate (optional)
SHALLOT PICKLE
4 round shallots, sliced as thinly as possible
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar
pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
DRESSING
5 tablespoons crushed pistachios
3 bird’s eye chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
3 tablespoons maple syrup
5 tablespoons lime juice (from about 2–3 limes)
5 tablespoons fish sauce
TO SERVE
prawn crackers
Top Tip
– Try swapping out the sugar snap peas for carrot, papaya, kohlrabi, daikon, courgettes (zucchini), mangetout (snow peas) or a combination of your favourites.
– You can use the chicken stock to make a delicious chicken rice.
Method
- Fill a very large saucepan with 3 litres (100fl oz/ 12½ cups) of boiling water, season with salt and add the chicken. Reduce to a simmer, cover and poach for 60–80 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken) until the juices run clear when you pierce the thickest part of the thigh and the chicken is cooked all the way through.
- Meanwhile, reserve some pistachios to garnish, then mix together all the remaining dressing ingredients in a screw-topped jar and shake well. Taste for the balance of sweet, sour, salty and heat and adjust as necessary.
- To make the shallot pickle, mix the shallots with the vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside for about 20 minutes.
- Mix the radishes, sugar snap peas and any other vegetables you’re using in a large salad bowl. Add the Vietnamese coriander.
- When the chicken is cooked, leave to cool. Tear off the meat along the grain and season with pepper. Add this to the salad bowl along with the pickled shallots and its juices.
- When ready to serve, toss the salad together with the dressing. Garnish with the coriander, pistachios and pomegranate seeds. Serve the salad with the prawn crackers. I always add a good squeeze of ketchup in there too. Mix well and serve together with the salad.
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