With the return of warm weather, it’s quickly becoming salad season. This is a crunchy, tangy, and healthy salad. Salad.

Vietnamese Chicken Slaw

This will serve probably 3-4 people as a main dish, and more if serving as an appetizer or if those people are diminutive, children, or drug-addicted models.

Salad Components

• 1/2 a cooked chicken, shredded (I like to use more of the white meat)
• 1 head green cabbage
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped coarsely
• dozen or so leaves spearmint
• 6 or so purple perilla leaves
• 6 or so thai basil leaves

Dressing

• 1 clove of garlic, forced through a garlic press
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• Juice of one nice, large juicy lime (or two smaller limes)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 thai bird chilies, minced
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce or siracha

Garnish

• Handful of roasted peanuts (no skins)

Dressing: whisk together all ingredients, and set aside to “steep”.

Crush the peanuts in a mortar with a pestle.

Chiffonade the cabbage. You can skip this step by buying those pre-cut coleslaw packages in the E. coli aisle of the produce section of your local mega-mart. There’s often carrots in the mix, too, so that will save you the step of shredding the carrots.

Get your herbs in order. What is perilla? It’s essentially shiso — a broad leafed member of the mint family. The versions utilized in Vietnamese cooking have a purple face. Chiffonade the perilla and mint, and along with cilantro, combine with the cabbage, carrots, and chicken in a large mixing bowl. Whisk dressing and pour over salad, and toss.

Garnish with peanuts.