Gỏi Gà Recipe

Just a quick change of pace, and I know it has nothing to do with my Taoism blog, but I wanted to share with you one of my passions…

Vietnamese Cooking!!!

I love to cook, and I love cooking a wide variety of cuisines, but my favorite of all cuisines is, OF COURSE, Vietnamese food.  It is, after all, comfort food for me.  It is home cooking.  It is basic and it is what I turn to when I get sick, or when I am tired of eating exotic foods like pizza and tacos.  It reminds me of my childhood days when simple foods were served with much love.

Since it’s January still, and it’s cold out there and I have the heater on, but all of a sudden, I had such a hankering for some chicken salad made the Vietnamese way.  I went into my recipe collection and pulled out my chicken recipe, (one that I have made over and over and over and finally perfected) and I thought I’d share it with you guys.

This is one of my favorite Vietnamese recipes.  It is almost fail-proof because it is so simple.  There are few (if any) exotic ingredients.  All you need is fresh chicken from the butcher and a small cabbage and you have most of the important ingredients.

I love making this dish in the summer time because it is best eaten cold, but it can still be eaten in the winter time.  Just don’t chill it before shredding.

Enjoy.

Ingredients (serves 8)

• 2 (about 250g each) single chicken breast fillets

• 1/4 savoy cabbage, finely shredded

• 110g (2 cups) bean sprouts

• 1 carrot, peeled, cut into thin matchsticks

• 1/2 cup fresh Vietnamese mint leaves

• 1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves

• 55g (1/3 cup) unsalted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

  • Dressing

• 60ml (1/4 cup) fresh lime juice

• 2 tbs finely chopped palm sugar

• 2 tbs fish sauce

• 2 tbs rice wine vinegar

• 4 green shallots, ends trimmed, thinly sliced

• 1 fresh red birdseye chilli, deseeded, finely chopped

• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Method

1. To make the dressing, combine the lime juice, palm sugar, fish sauce, vinegar, shallot, chilli and garlic in a screw-top jar. Shake until well combined.

2. Place the chicken in a large frying pan and cover with cold water. Season with salt and pepper. Place over high heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken is just cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside in pan for 15 minutes to cool. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken to a heatproof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for 2 hours to chill.

3. Finely shred the chicken with the grain and place in a large bowl. Add the cabbage, bean sprouts, carrot, mint, coriander and half the peanuts.

4. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Place in a serving bowl and sprinkle with the remaining peanuts to serve.

Notes

• Prepare this recipe to the end of step 2 up to 1 day ahead. Store in the fridge. Carry out step 3 up to 1 hour before serving. Continue from step 4 just before serving.