This PRS Power Recipe is brought to you by PRS resident foodie Miriam Lazewatsky!

If you make the recipe below please share it on social media using the PRS hashtag (#prorehabstrength) and tag Miriam (@liftsatnight) and PRS (@prorehabstrength) and let us know how you like it!

Boston has a surprisingly large Vietnamese community, and I ate a lot of Vietnamese food growing up. I have strong memories of eating at Pho Pasteur (now called Le’s) with my family as a child. Vietnamese one of my favorite cuisines; huge bowls of pho got me through grad school when money was tight and I hadn’t yet started meal prepping. This recipe is a quick and simple introduction to Vietnamese flavors.

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

Makes 3 servings

Nutrition Information: 406 calories, 18 grams fat, 25 grams carbs, 35 grams protein

Salad Ingredients:

·      1 lb. chicken breast, raw

·      2 tsp neutral oil (i.e. canola or peanut)

·      6 cups Napa cabbage, finely shredded (Note 1)

·      ½ red onion, very finely sliced

·      1 bell pepper, sliced into 1-inch-long matchsticks

·      1 English cucumber, deseeded and sliced into quarter inch wide half moons

·      1 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped and tightly packed

·      1 cup cilantro leaves, tightly packed

Dressing Ingredients:

·      2 Tbsp. lime juice

·      2 Tbsp. rice vinegar

·      2 Tbsp. fish sauce (Note 3)

·      2 Tbsp. soy sauce

·      1 Tbsp. sesame oil

·      1 Tbsp. white sugar

·      1 large garlic clove, grated or very finely minced

·      ¼ - ½ tsp. chili flakes (optional)

To finish:

·      45 grams peanuts, chopped

Directions:

1.     Mix all dressing ingredients in a mason jar. Cover, shake to mix, and set aside to allow the flavors to meld.

2.     Preheat oven to 400° F. Place chicken breasts in a rimmed baking dish and drizzle with the 2 tsp. oil. Lightly salt and use fingers to coat chicken in the oil and distribute salt evenly. Bake for 30 minutes, uncovered. Let cool for 15 minutes, then shred. I’ve found the easiest method is placing the chicken breasts in a deep bowl and using a handheld mixer, which gets them evenly shredded.

3.     Place all salad ingredients, including shredded chicken, in a very large bowl. Top with dressing and mix to distribute evenly.

4.     Divide into 3 containers. Top with 15 grams chopped peanuts just before serving.

Notes:

1.     Can substitute with one bag pre-shredded coleslaw mix. If you go this route, let the salad sit at least half an hour before serving to let the cabbage soften.

2.     If you don’t like fish sauce, this can be replaced with additional soy sauce. That said, my husband does not like fish sauce and really liked this salad with the dressing as-is. Using half soy sauce keeps the fish sauce flavor from being overwhelming. If you really like fish sauce (like me), you can use all fish sauce and no soy sauce.