Cambodian Chicken salad

Recipe from SF Chronicle, by Nyum Bai

Recipe: Nyum Bai’s Neorm Sach Moan (Cambodian Chicken Salad)

This vibrant salad is full of color, texture and tang — and simple to make, as adapted from “We Are La Cocina,” by Leticia Landa and Caleb Zigas (Chronicle Books). The book recommends boiling whole chickens and saving the broth for another use, but you could just as well use a rotisserie chicken from a grocery store.

Serves 2 to 4

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

1 bird’s-eye chile, Thai chile or serrano chile, chopped with seeds

½ small red cabbage, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

½ cup Persian cucumber slices

2 cups cooked chicken, cut or pulled into large chunks

2 cups loose greens, such as mizuna or arugula

1 cup loosely packed Thai basil leaves (or regular basil)

¾ cup loosely packed mint leaves

¼ cup peanuts, roasted and chopped

Instructions: Combine the sugar with ½ cup warm water in a medium bowl and whisk to dissolve the sugar. Whisk in the fish sauce, vinegar, garlic and chile.

In a separate bowl, combine the cabbage, bell pepper, cucumber and chicken. Add half the dressing and toss to combine. Add the loose greens, basil leaves and mint and toss again. Divide evenly among serving plates, drizzle the remaining dressing over each plate and top with chopped peanuts. Any remaining dressing can be refrigerated for another use.