Name: Crunchy chicken salad
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 4 tbsp Vietnamese fish sauce (nuoc mam) or Thai fish sauce (nam pla); 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts; 4 tbsp lime juice; 1 tbsp sugar or more to taste if liked; ½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper; 1 small red chilli seeded and finely chopped; 200g white cabbage finely shredded; 2 medium carrots finely shredded; 1 small onion finely sliced; 2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh mint leaves; 2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander leaves; 3 garlic cloves peeled; 3 plump fresh red chillies halved and seeded; 1 tbsp caster sugar; 3 tbsp Vietnamese fish sauce (nuoc mam) or Thai fish sauce (nam pla); 3 tbsp rice vinegar; small bunch of fresh mint; 2 tbsp salted peanut very finely chopped

4 tbsp Vietnamese fish sauce
(nuoc mam) or Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 tbsp lime
juice
1 tbsp sugar
or more to taste if liked
½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 small red chilli
seeded and finely chopped
200g white cabbage
finely shredded
2 medium carrots
finely shredded
1 small onion
finely sliced
2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh mint
leaves
2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander
leaves

For the nuoc cham sauce

3 garlic cloves
peeled
3 plump fresh red chillies
halved and seeded
1 tbsp caster sugar
3 tbsp Vietnamese fish sauce
(nuoc mam) or Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
3 tbsp rice vinegar

To serve

small bunch of fresh mint
2 tbsp salted peanut
very finely chopped

Method

step 1
Half fill a medium wok or deep frying pan with water, sprinkle in half of the fish sauce and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer, lower the chicken into the water and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer for 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Lift the chicken out of the water and leave until cool enough to handle.
step 2
Meanwhile, mix the remaining fish sauce in a large bowl with the lime juice, sugar, pepper and chopped chilli. Tip in the cabbage, carrots and onion. Mix well.
step 3
Shred the chicken and toss it into the salad with the herbs. Mix again, cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours (overnight is ideal).
step 4
To make the nuoc cham sauce, pound the garlic, chillies and caster sugar to a paste using a pestle and mortar. Mix in the fish sauce, vinegar and 6 tbsp water. (It will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge.)
step 5
To serve, toss the salad, taste and add more sugar, if you like. Scatter mint leaves on each plates, pile the salad on top and sprinkle with peanuts. Serve with individual bowls of nuoc cham sauce to pour over.