Vietnamese Chicken Salad

As the mercury rose to an unbearable 44 degrees C (thats around 111 degrees F!!!) we sat huddled under a small patch of shade provided by a lone tree at the end of a dusty sports field watching "the Darlings" and their friends, compete in a "Zone" Athletics Carnival.

I hear you asking why????  Why indeed??  Finally sense prevailed and the meet was cancelled (but only after waiting it out for another hour to see if the gods would smile down on us in some way and reduce the temperature somehow.  With nary a cloud in sight the odds were not looking good.

I did use this hour layover as a chance to relish the only good point of the day - and that was my pre-packed lunch.  I decided that I was not going to endure a sausage sandwich or sausage roll, as is regular fare at these kind of events, and planned ahead and made a lovely healthy lunch for my friends and I.

So as we sweated out the final decision on the postponement (yes, I now have to go back tomorrow!!!) we pulled out the pre-packed take away containers and enjoyed our lunch.

Vietnamese Chicken Salad
Adapted From the Delicious Quick Smart Cook Cookbook

Serves 4-6


1 cooked chicken, skin and bones removed, meat shredded (to give 3 cups)
2 carrots, finely julienned *
1/2 chinese (wombok) cabbage, shredded
1/2 red onion, finely diced *
1 lebanese cucumber, finely julienned *
1 long red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
1/2 cup each thai basil, mint and coriander leaves, toughly chopped
1/3 cup nuts (optional) - either cashews or peanuts

Dressing

1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 long red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
100ml fresh lime juice
1 small clove garlic, finely diced (optional)

* If you have a mandoline this will make the job so much easier!!!
I did not add the garlic - and I am glad I didn't - but that is up to you!

For the dressing, place the fish sauce and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes, or until sugar disolved.

Place the sugar mixture in a blender/thermomix with the chilli, ginger (and garlic if using).  Process until smooth.

Stir in the lime juice, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Combine the chicken, carrot, cabbage, onion, cucumber, chilli and most of the herbs.  Pour over half of the dressing, toss well to combine.

Divide among the serving bowls.  Garnish with the remaining herbs and nuts and drizzle with remaining dressing.

This was oh so cooling on a hot day.  It had a bit of a chilli kick to it, and the flavours were great.

It was the highlight of my swelteringly hot day!!!

So spare a thought for me tomorrow, and pray that the weather gods bring cooler weather - they actually are predicting rain - so I could be sitting there under an umbrella LOL!!!