Cabbage Chicken Salad - ga xe phay Recipe

Cabbage Chicken Salad - ga xe phay Recipe

400 g chicken thighs or 200 g boneless thigh fillets, skin and fat removed

2 teaspoons salt

1 very large or 2 small to medium red or brown onions, halved lengthways, very thinly

  sliced across

400 g long white Chinese celery or Napa cabbage, or round white cabbage, cored and

  finely shredded

¼ cup firmly packed coriander (cilantro) leaves, coarsely chopped

¼ cup firmly packed mint leaves, coarsely chopped

¼ cup firmly packed polygonum (long stemmed mint), coarsely chopped,

  or another ¼ cup regular mint

liberal amount of freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:

4 tablespoons calamansi juice

3 tablespoons fish sauce

3 tablespoons castor sugar

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 large red chili, minced

Method:

Put the chicken thighs in a saucepan with 1 teaspoon of the salt and add just enough water to cover.  Bring to the boil, cover, and simmer until the chicken is cooled.  Cool in the stock if you have time, then remove the meat from the bones and shred the flesh into fine, lengthwise strips with your fingers.  Keep the stock for some other purpose.  While the chicken is cooking, sprinkle the remaining teaspoon of salt over the onion, rub with your fingers, and set aside for 30 minutes.  To prepare the sauce, combine all ingredients in a small bowl, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Set aside for the flavors to blend.  Just before serving, put the cabbage and herbs in large bowl.  Rinse the salted onion under running water, then squeeze dry and add to the cabbage.  Add the chicken and sauce, tossing to combine well.  Grind over a liberal amount of black pepper, toss again, and serve with other dishes.

Note:  If you are preparing the salad in advance, put the mixed cabbage, chicken and herbs in a sealed container, with the sauce in a separate container.  Combine immediately before serving.