All back to casa rosada for industrial quantities of coleslaw

"Din´expect to be served a Vietnamese chicken salad in the Algarve"- recent American guests at casa rosada

I have never really been able to stomach coleslaw. It is way too sweet, mayonnaise-y, and doesn’t have any colour at all! but freshly made coleslaw can be a wonderful thing, and every now and then it’s fun to zip up the formula with a burst of lively Asian flavours.Forgettable old coleslaw, your days are numbered.Coleslaw can and will be cool again. Or, at least, tasty. Coleslaw is a corruption of the Dutch koolsla, meaning cabbage salad, and arrived here via the USA. Cabbage was, according to the Oxford Encylopedia of Food and Drink in America, a popular crop "throughout the colonies", and Dutch settlers, who grew it "extensively along the Hudson River" liked to serve it in the familiar, old-country way: the first mention of coleslaw in the USA dates from 1785.Early versions seem only to have used a vinaigrette, but mayonnaise now seems to be the standard dressing, usually the gloopy sugary kind that smothers all other flavours, leaving you unsure whether you're eating cabbage or carrot.So lets go back to its roots and start again.This is based on a recipe from Taste: A New Way to Cook, by the marvellous Sybil Kapoor.The recipe has been emulated across the globe by the likes of Nigella and Bill Granger to name but two.It's filling, fabulous and packed with veggies. It's wonderfully aromatic, quite unlike any other coleslaw.There are many variations of this fabulous and classic Vietnamese Chicken Salad. The salad can be especially pleasing, with different textures and flavors ranging from fried shallots, roasted peanuts, fried garlic and pickled onions to different Vietnamese herbs such as mint, basil or the classic rau ram (Viet coriander). Some salads will be heartier with more chicken than cabbage, so you can choose your ratios and toppings to your personal taste. The chicken can be boiled, poached, grilled, fried or barbecued

(Gỏi Gà or Gỏi Bắp Cẚi Gà)

Yield: 4-6 Servings

Total Time: 40 minutes 

 

2 pounds (910g) boneless, skinless Chicken
1 tablespoon (15ml) crushed or grated fresh Ginger
2 cloves Garlic, crushed or finely minced
2 tablespoons (30ml) Vegetable or Grape Seed oil
2 tablespoons (30ml) Fish Sauce
1 teaspoon (5ml) Sugar

For the Fish Sauce Dressing:

1/4 cup (60ml) Fish Sauce
1 teaspoon grated fresh Ginger
3/4 cup (180ml) Water
3 cloves Garlic, finely minced or crushed
1-2 Red Chilies, minced
1 teaspoon (5ml) Sugar
1 tablespoon (15ml) fresh Lime Juice or more to taste
2 teaspoons (10ml) rice vinegar

For the Salad:

6 cups thinly shredded Chinese cabbage
1 cup chopped fresh herbs: rau ram (Vietnamese coriander), mint, basil, and/or coriander
1/4 cup (60ml) shredded Carrots
about 1/4 cup (60ml) crushed, roasted Peanuts
optional - about 1/4 cup (60ml) fried Shallots
optional - 2 tablespoons (30ml) fried Garlic
optional - about 1/4 cup (60ml) Pickled Red Onions

In a large bowl, combine all chicken marinade ingredients (ginger, garlic, oil, fish sauce, and sugar). If your pieces of chicken are thick, place them between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound them with a meat mallet to an even 1/2-inch thickness. Remove the plastic wrap and add the chicken to the marinade. Let marinade for about 20 minutes.
Heat a grill or heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until it is browned and cooked through, usually 3-4 minutes per side. Let cool, and then shred or chop the chicken.

In medium bowl or large jar, combine all ingredients well (fish sauce, ginger, water, garlic, chilies, sugar, lime juice, and vinegar). Allow sugar to completely dissolve before using. (You can keep chilled in fridge for up to 1 month).

In large bowl, combine cabbage, herbs and shredded carrots. Add the chicken to the bowl and toss to combine.
Add fish sauce dressing to taste just before serving. Top with peanuts and other optional fried shallots, garlic, and/or pickled onions if using and serve.

VARIATION ON A THEME: 
Chicken, chinese cabbage, mint, carrots, spring onions, peanuts,Asian vinaigrette, rolled in rice paper with dipping sauces, whats not to like?