Shredded chicken salad (Thịt gà xé phay)

 This salad is unique that only Vietnamese have. It is as special as Som Tum of Thailand. It uses fish sauce that no other countries in the world ever think of when it comes to the combination with chicken. It is what makes us so Vietnamese.

There can be some versions of chicken shredded salad, mostly because ingredients can be various up to the cook's favorite. However, the key participants that cannot be missing in any version are chicken breast, cucumber, onion, and coriander.

My version of shredded chicken salad goes like this (for 2 people):

Main ingredients: 300-400g of chicken breast, 1 fresh cucumber, 1/2 big onion (about 100g), 1 bag of coriander (about this amount), 1 fresh chilli and 3 thinly chopped lime leaves (for those who don't know what it is). 

Spices include: 1 tbsp of fish sauce, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tbsp of sugar, 1 tsp of ground black pepper, 1 tbsp of lime juice, and 2 tbsp of sriracha (there are several brands, feel free to choose any). Lime juice is very important so you should not forget it. It adds the sourness and a unique soothing fragrance to the dish (it is nostalgic to me as it smells a Vietnamese garden). Actually, I think no spice here should be absent.

Step 1: Boil chicken breast (30')

Boil 500ml water on high heat with 1 tsp of salt and some onion or shallot (1-2 pieces). When it boils, lower the heat to medium and add the chicken breast, lid on. When it boils again, simmer for 15~20 minutes. Then turn off the heat and leave the chicken for another 10 minutes (still with lid on). This technique is for chicken to be cooked just in time to keep its sweetness and juice.

To not dry chicken and preserve its taste, when it's time, move the chicken immediately out of hot water into a cold water bowl and let it cool down for 10 minutes. Then, shred it into thin pieces like this.

Chicken breast can be a bit thick so you may cut it in half to make sure it's cooked.

Step 2: Prepare onion and cucumber (10')

While the chicken is on the stove, slice onion and cucumber. Put onion in an iced water bowl so that its pungency can get lost. Put cucumber in another bowl, sprinkle 1 tsp salt on them, then mix and leave them. This way, cucumber will drain a bit so that its water will not mess up the salad later on. You actually can omit this step if you like raw cucumber and raw onion. 

Step 3: Mix (15')

Mixed the shredded chicken in Step 1 and the drained onion and cucumber in Step 2, with the remaining ingredients and spices, except for sriracha sauce.

When you already well mix them, let them rest for 5 minutes, then stir again, and let them rest for another 5 minutes. You will see some water coming out underneath.

When you dish the salad out, squeeze sriracha sauce on top. 

You can eat it as a dish or together with fried Asian shrimp chips (in which case you may need a hand).

Enjoy!