When I heard “chicken salad” my mind pops with a vision of the creamy dressing. I always apply.

Or, as my wife says, “Too much dressing.”

Here’s a Vietnamese version of chicken salad with no mayo. The onion is still there but now accelerated with fresh ginger. Oh, there is liquid: one cup of fish sauce. The salad is studded with fried shallots and roasted peanuts.

Charles Phan, author of The Slanted Door, suggests that to make this salad ideally crunchy, you want to presalt the cabbage and shred the chicken by hand to achieve the perfect texture.

I don’t know about you, but I rather enjoy pulling a warm chicken apart.

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

Yield: serves 6

Ingredients:

Kosher salt

1 whole chicken, preferably 2 ½ to 3 pounds

3-inch piece of fresh ginger, smashed

4 whole green onions

½ head green cabbage, cored and sliced into ¼-inch ribbons

V2 cup coarsely chopped rau ram leaves [Vietnamese coriander]

3 cups cooked rice vermicelli

1 cup flavored fish sauce

Ground black pepper

2 tablespoons fried shallots

2 tablespoons roasted unsalted peanuts

Preparation:

Using a small handful of salt, rub the chicken all over to remove any loose skin and dirt, and rinse well. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the chicken, ginger, and green onions and boil for 15 minutes. Turn the heat off, cover the pot; and let stand for another 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool. Pull the chicken meat from the bones and shred with your hands- you should have about 2 cups. Use a knife to slice the skin into strips. Season with a dash of salt.

Place the cabbage in a colander. Sprinkle with a I small handful of salt and, using your hands, massage the salt into the cabbage. Let stand for a few minutes, I then rinse the salt off with cold water and let the cabbage drain.

To serve, toss the cabbage, rau ram, vermicelli, and flavored fish sauce together in a large bowl. Add the chicken and lightly toss. Season to taste with I black pepper and garnish with the fried shallots and j peanuts. Serve at once.

Source: The Slanted Table by Charles Phan [10 Speed Press, 2014]