Rick Stein’s Vietnamese Poached Chicken Salad

By Rick Stein

Rick Stein’s Vietnamese Poached Chicken Salad
Rick Stein has embarked on many unforgettable culinary journeys to Vietnam, immersing himself in the country's vibrant food culture. From bustling street markets to hidden culinary gems, Stein explored the diverse regional cuisines and traditional cooking techniques that make Vietnamese cuisine so captivating.

What appeals to Rick Stein about this salad is the combination of lightly poached chicken, bean sprouts, spring onions and herbs with roasted chopped nuts and sesame seeds, and the slightly gloopy fish sauce, lime juice and chilli dressing.

Rick Stein’s Vietnamese Poached Chicken Salad Recipe

Serves 8 – 1 0 as a first course or 4 as a main course

Ingredients:

50g root ginger, peeled and sliced

4 small skinless, boneless, free-range chicken breasts

1/2 large cucumber

8 spring onions, trimmed, halved and shredded

150g fresh bean sprouts

Small handful mint, leaves torn into small pieces

Small handful fresh coriander sprigs

1 tbsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted

60g roasted, salted peanuts, finely chopped

Dressing

4 tbsp Thai fish sauce

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp light soft brown sugar

1/2 tsp cornflour

1 medium-hot red chilli, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Method:

Put the ginger into a large, shallow pan with a litre of water and bring to the boil.

Add the chicken breasts and leave them to simmer for 5–6 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the chicken to cool in the liquid.

For the dressing, put the Thai fish sauce, vinegar, lime juice and sugar into a small pan and bring to the boil. Mix the cornflour with a teaspoon of water, stir this into the pan and
simmer gently for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and leave to cool, then stir in the red chilli and garlic.

For the salad, peel the cucumber, cut it in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon. Cut the flesh into 5cm long matchsticks and add them to a large bowl with the spring onions, bean sprouts, mint and coriander, then toss together.

Lift the chicken breasts out of the poaching liquid and pull them into long chunky strips. Add these to the salad bowl and mix gently. Serve the salad with the dressing drizzled over the top and scattered with sesame seeds and chopped peanuts.

 

Rick’s Smart tip:

When peeling ginger, use the bowl end of a teaspoon to scrape the skin off. It’s much easier than using a peeler.

 

Image with no description

Extracted from Rick Stein at Home by Rick Stein (BBC Books, $55).
Photography by James Murphy

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