New York Times recipe: Chicken and herb salad with nuoc cham

This extremely quick salad gets dinner on the table in mere minutes. Nuoc cham, a Vietnamese sauce bright with lime juice and chilli, gives the dish its salty-sweet finish, while thinly sliced capsicum and shaved cabbage provide crunch. You can use a store-bought rotisserie chicken — or any leftover chicken: just make sure you pull it apart so the craggy bits and ridges along the edges soak up the dressing.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp sugar

1 garlic clove, minced

1 bird’s-eye chilli or other small hot chilli, minced with seeds

¼ cup fresh lime juice (from 2 limes)

3 tbsp fish sauce

3 loosely packed cups chicken meat (340g, pulled from store-bought rotisserie chicken or roast chicken)

2 cups thinly sliced red or green cabbage

1 small cucumber, thinly sliced (about 1 ½ cups)

1 medium capsicum (any colour), thinly sliced

1 ½ cups peppery leafy greens, such as watercress with tender stems, rocket or mizuna

1 loosely packed cup Thai or sweet basil leaves

1 loosely packed cup mint leaves

½ cup crispy fried shallots or onions, store-bought or homemade

Preparation:

Step 1 In a large bowl, combine the sugar and ¼ cup water. Whisk to dissolve the sugar. Add the garlic, chilli, lime juice and fish sauce. Stir to combine.

Step 2 Add the chicken, cabbage, cucumber and capsicum to the dressing. Toss to coat. Add the leafy greens and the basil and mint leaves. Toss to combine.

Step 3 Divide the salad among bowls, garnish with the crispy shallots and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Total time: 5 minutes

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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