Vietnamese-style chicken salad

Method

1. Put the chicken breasts into a large pan, pour over cold water to cover, add the salt and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down, simmer gently for 30 minutes, then leave to cool in the cooking liquid. Lift the chicken onto a plate, then finely shred the meat, discarding the skin. You should have about 450g meat. Cover and set aside. Chill or freeze the liquid to use in another dish.
2. To make the dressing, combine the vinegar and sugar in a bowl. Slice the shallots into thin rounds, separate into rings, add to the bowl and toss together. Set aside for 15 minutes or until softened slightly. Stir in the lime juice, Thai fish sauce, garlic and chillies.
3. Halve the cabbage lengthways, cut away the hard central core, then cut the cabbage across into very thin slices. A mandoline will do this quickly, but you can do it by hand if you don’t have one. Mix in a large bowl with the carrots, beansprouts, radishes, most of the herbs and the shredded chicken. Pour over two- thirds of the dressing or to taste, then toss well. Pour the rest of the dressing into a small bowl.
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5. Pile the salad onto a large serving dish or 4 individual serving plates, scatter over the rest of the herbs and the chopped peanuts, then serve with the extra dressing on the side.