Lao Shredded Chicken Salad Recipe with Fragrant Herbs, Fish Sauce and Lime for Yum Gai Tom
This Lao shredded chicken salad recipe with fragrant herbs, fish sauce and lime juice makes yum gai tom, based on a recipe by the late Phia Sing, head chef of the Royal Palace in Luang Prabang, from the book Traditional Recipes of Laos. Made with poached chicken breast, crunchy cucumbers and fresh coriander, dill and mint, it’s a fantastic summer salad.
Servings: 2
Calories: 173kcal
Equipment
- Soup Pot
- Waterproof Digital Meat Thermometer
- Mixing Bowl
- Wooden Serving Bowl
Ingredients
- 150 g chicken breast poached and shredded
- 1 piece of lemongrass smashed with a pestle
- 4 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 knob of ginger peeled and smashed with a pestle
- 2 tbsp quality fish sauce
- 1 lime juice only
- 1 tsp palm sugar
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 100 g Romaine lettuce leaves washed and torn
- 50 g cucumber cut in half lengthways, then sliced into pieces
- 2 spring onions (scallions) finely sliced
- 2 red chillies long, fresh, sliced and de-seeded
- 30 g purple shallots small, sliced into rings
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 tbsp coriander (cilantro) fresh, leaves only
- 1 tbsp fresh mint leaves only
- 1 tbsp fresh dill sprigs only
- 1 tbsp crunchy fried shallots
Instructions
- Poach the chicken breasts: place the chicken breasts in a pot large enough so they’re sitting on the bottom of the pot; pour in just enough water to cover the chicken pieces; add the piece of lemongrass, lime leaves and knob of ginger; bring the water to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to low, and simmer until when you poke a thermometer into the widest part of the breast the internal temperature reaches 74°C/ 165°F. Remove and when they’re cool enough to touch, shred the chicken pieces into strips using your hands or two forks.
- Make the dressing while the chicken is poaching: to a jar with lid, add two tablespoons of quality fish sauce, the juice of one lime, a teaspoon of palm sugar, half a teaspoon of sea salt and half a teaspoon of ground black pepper, pop the lid on and shake vigorously, then remove the lid and set aside so the flavours meld together.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the torn Romaine lettuce leaves, cucumber pieces, sliced spring onions/scallions, finely sliced fresh red chillies, sliced purple shallots, minced garlic clove, and half of each of the portions of fresh coriander leaves, fresh mint leaves and fresh dill sprigs.
- Just before serving, add the shredded chicken, evenly pour the dressing over the salad, use a big spoon or clean hands to thoroughly combine, then transfer to a salad bowl or serving dish, sprinkle on the remaining fresh herbs and crunchy fried shallots, and serve immediately.