Vietnamese-Inspired Chicken Herb Salad
This Vietnamese-inspired chicken salad swaps out lettuce for whole leaves of mint and basil, tossed with shredded rotisserie chicken, crunchy red bell pepper, cucumber, and peppery arugula (all my favorite things). A spicy lime dressing brings it all together, and chopped peanuts and crispy fried shallots take it over the top. It's gluten-free, it's on the table in 25 minutes, and the only thing you actually have to cook is the shallots.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Spicy Lime Dressing
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 3 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce or to taste (I use Red Boat Brand)
- ½-1 serrano chile or Fresno chile depending on how spicy you like it, thinly sliced
Fried Shallots
- Neutral vegetable oil (such as grapeseed or safflower)
- 2 large shallots, very thinly sliced
Salad
- 3 cups shredded rotisserie (or leftover) chicken
- 1 small red bell pepper, very thinly sliced
- ½ medium English cucumber, halved and very thinly sliced
- 2 cups baby arugula or watercress
- 1 cup fresh mint leaves
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- ½ cup coarsely chopped roasted peanuts or cashews
Instructions
Make the dressing
- In a small bowl, combine the lime juice and garlic. If you have the time, let this sit for 5 minutes to mellow out the garlic. Whisk in the oil, honey, fish sauce (to taste—some brands are more pungent than others) and chiles to taste (this will depend on how spicy you like it; I usually do half a chile, which is mild enough for my kids).
Make the crispy shallots
- Set a strainer over a bowl (this will be to drain the shallots later) and line a plate with paper towels.
- Heat ¼-inch of oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add a single shallot to the hot oil—if it starts bubbling immediately, you’re good to go. Add all of the shallots and cook, stirring constantly—if your instincts are telling you that the heat is too high, then turn it down (trust yourself!). Cook until golden brown (it’s okay if there are some darker bits), about 4-6 minutes. Drain the shallots in the strainer over the bowl; immediately transfer them to paper towels to drain; and season with salt. The shallots will crisp up as they cool. Do Ahead: The crispy shallots can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.
Assemble the salad
- In a large bowl, combine the chicken, red pepper, cucumber, arugula or watercress, mint, basil and chopped peanuts. Season the salad with salt and pepper. Drizzle the dressing over top and toss to combine. Garnish the salad with the fried shallots, and serve.
Notes
- It’s much easier to shred a rotisserie chicken when it’s still hot from the store (discard the skin and bones). You likely won’t need the whole chicken, so use leftovers in salads, quesadillas, sandwiches, etc.
- The salad would also be delicious with cooked shrimp in place of the chicken.
- If you’re sensitive to raw garlic (like me!), then combine the lime juice with 2 smashed garlic cloves and let sit for 10 minutes (this will infuse the lime juice with garlic flavor but will remain gentle on the stomach). Remove the garlic cloves and continue with the recipe as directed.
- Feel free to swap out the bell pepper and cucumber for any other crunchy veggies you like, such as sugar snap peas, julienned carrots and/or radishes.
- You can use jalapeño or red pepper flakes in place of the serrano chiles.
- If you’re tight on time, you can swap out the homemade crispy fried shallots for store-bought fried shallots.
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