Cambodian Chicken Salad

Cambodian Chicken Salad

The first time I had Cambodian Chicken Salad I had to be physically restrained from putting my face right down on the plate and licking at it like CoCo the Amazing-Raised-By-Wild-Dogs-Girl. That's because it is tossed with tuk trey, which I personally think kicks ranch dressing's ass in a no-contest flavor ninja smackdown. The salad part is pretty heavenly as well, but without the tuk trey it's like Sonny¹ without Cher.

This version is the get-in-mah-belly-NOW version. There is a long version involving actually slicing the cabbage and poaching the chicken, but this does not take advantage of my kitchen and Krogering wisdoms. If you want to save yourself like a whole $1.23 and poach a raw chicken and sliver cabbage with a fish boning knife, knock yourself out.

Serves Two (2):

• 1 rotisserie chicken from the grocery deli. Not fried! Rotisserie!
• 1 bag of pre-chopped coleslaw mix. It's just julienned green cabbage and a bit of carrot color.
• 1 bag of chopped red cabbage (if you can't find this, whack a red cabbage in half and go Swedish Chef on it until it looks kind of like the green cabbage).
• 1 med. onion, thinly sliced, preferably Vidalia. Mmm.
• 1/2 c. fresh mint leaves (crucial!)
• 1/2 c. fresh basil leaves (crucial!)
• handful of crushed dry roasted peanuts
• tuk trey, about half of what you just made.

1. Yank steaming chicken apart with fingers. Find tasty white meat. Sliver with knife. Do not eat! Save for salad! Nibble on dark meat if you must. Set slivered chicken breasts aside.



2. Stack your mint and basil leaves up on top of each other, and then roll into a big herb cylinder. Do not smoke. Once you have a nice dense cylinder, it can be easily julienned.



3. In a large salad bowl, toss all of the vegetables and herbs together with the chicken. Mix in the peanuts. Add the tuk trey and toss. Serve pronto. Holds up OK for leftovers, but it's best fresh.