VIETNAMESE CHICKEN & COLESLAW SALAD

Vietnamese Chicken & Coleslaw Salad image

I can't believe anything this healthy can taste so good! Truly, this is one of the best things I've ever eaten. This recipe is very liberally adapted from one shown on Australia's version of Good Chef Bad Chef. The original poached a whole chicken, but I just bought a cooked chicken from the shop and 'cheated' with the poaching. It was still deeee-licious!

Provided by Kookaburra

Categories Chicken

Time 40m

Yield 4 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 22

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, plus a little extra meat from the thighs and legs from a cooked chicken (shop-bought is fine)
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 inch fresh ginger, about 2 . 5cm
1/2 teaspoon sambal oelek or 1/2 teaspoon minced chili
6 coriander, roots and stems chopped
2 large garlic cloves, sliced
1/3 cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped, plus some extra leaves for garnish
1/4 cup mint leaf, roughly chopped, plus some extra leaves for garnish
2 green onions, finely sliced on the diagonal
75 ml fish sauce
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 limes, juice of
60 g palm sugar or 60 g brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon sambal oelek or 1/2 teaspoon minced chili
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons sesame oil
350 -500 g chinese wombok cabbage or 350 savoy cabbage, finely sliced
1 large carrot, finely grated
1 small red onion, finely sliced
200 g bean sprouts, plus
100 g extra bean sprouts, for garnish

Steps:

First, prepare the chicken poaching liquid.
In a small saucepan, combine chicken stock, lemon juice, ginger, sambal oelek or minced chilli, coriander roots and stems, and garlic.
Add whole breasts of chicken (and any extra pieces) to liquid and set aside until needed.
In a medium bowl, combine chopped coriander and mint leaves and the sliced green onion - remember to reserve some mint and coriander leaves for garnish. Set aside until needed.
Now, make the dressing.
Add all the dressing ingredients to a small food processor and blitz until combined. (Or chop or mince garlic very finely and combine with dressing ingredients in a sealable jar and shake vigorously).
Taste and adjust flavours of dressing to suit your personal taste - it should be quite sweet, salty and tangy.
Next, combine coleslaw ingredients in a large bowl - remembering to reserve some bean sprouts for garnish - and toss thoroughly.
(I use the food processor to prepare the coleslaw - use the slicer blade for cabbage and onion, and the grater for the carrot).
Now, put the saucepan with the chicken and poaching liquid on the stove over a medium heat and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes until chicken is heated through.
Remove chicken from poaching liquid (discard poaching liquid) and shred chicken by tearing apart with two forks.
Add warm chicken to the bowl with coriander and mint leaves, and green onions.
Pour over 1/3 cup of the dressing and mix well.
Pour the remaining dressing into the prepared coleslaw and mix well.
To assemble, pile coleslaw into bowls, top with chicken mixture and garnish with reserved coriander, mint and bean sprouts.