Vietnamese-Style Chicken Salad

Step 1
Start by making the dressing. Add the soy sauce, sunflower oil, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, sugar, chilli paste, salt and pepper to a medium-sized jar. Use a microplane or fine grater to zest the lime, then add to the jar with the lime juice. Finely mince the garlic and ginger and add to the jar. Put the lid on the jar and shake well to combine.

For The Salad
Step 2
Thinly slice the red onion and put into a large bowl with 2 tablespoons of the dressing and mix well.

Step 3
Very thinly slice the red cabbage – the thinner the better! – and add to the bowl. For best results, use a large sharp knife or a mandolin. You will need about 2 cups of shredded red cabbage.

Step 4
Peel the carrot and grate it directly into the bowl. For best looking results, hold the carrot vertically against the coarse side of a box grater to make sure you get long strips of carrot. Thinly slice the snow peas into long thin matchsticks and add to the bowl. Use tongs to gently mix everything together.

Step 5
Shred the chicken and pick the mint leaves, then add both to the salad and gently mix again. Shake the dressing to mix well and start spooning the dressing over the salad, one tablespoon at a time, mixing gently as you go. This will ensure you don’t overdress the salad.

Step 6
Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Add the toasted peanuts and mix again. Serve into bowls.