Vietnamese Mango Chicken Salad

Salads, they can be really boring. I say this knowing that they are just part of summer reality because, unlike my friends, I’m not down with eating lentil soup and cabbage rolls when we should all be eating the summer rainbow. Because salads are so part of my every day this time of the year, I do my best to make them exciting. See this Vietnamese Mango Chicken Salad.

See also:  Grilled Greek Salad, Yardbird Salad and Crab Cobb.

But, one thing I realized when over in Vietnam last year that I love fruit salads: not in the traditional way you think with bad melon and not enough berries, but like, a savory fruit salad, with mango and papaya and flavors and textures that are anything but boring.

I learned that lesson almost 18 months ago, and truth be told, I forgot about the savory fruit salad. That is, until last Friday when I went out for lunch with my friend to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant, ordered it, and again wondered where it was all my life before last February.

This recipe is easy, and an adaptation from one that I learned in our cooking class when I was over there, sans shredded chicken, which I will be sure to do next time. The mango, very green on the outside and underripe, is grated (I used something along the lines of this, but a box grater will do), as course or as fine as you like, and tossed with onions, herbs and a simple dressing of fish sauce, lime and vinegar. Roasted, salted peanuts add the crunch we all know and love and need in our lives.

This is awesome as a side dish, or just on its own as a quick snack (done and done). And one of the best things about this is that it’s good to sit in the fridge all week without getting all soggy.  In any case, the lighter foods of Vietnam are perfect for this time of the year, so don’t be surprised if I dig through my memory for a few more before the leaves turn this fall.