Goi Ga — Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad with Fish Sauce

Place the chicken in cold water with the sliced ginger, halved onion, and salt. Bring to a boil and skim off the foam, then lower the heat and cook for 18 minutes. Do not let it boil vigorously; a hard boil toughens the chicken fibers.

Insert a thermometer into the thickest part of a thigh without touching the bone; the internal temperature must reach 74°C / 165°F. If it has not reached 74°C / 165°F, cook for 5 minutes more. Then transfer the chicken to ice water; the quick chill tightens the skin and keeps the meat juicy.

Remove the rested chicken from the bones and pull it into shreds by hand; do not chop it with a knife. Hand-pulled fibers hold the dressing, while smooth knife-cut pieces let it run off.

Whisk together the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, crushed garlic, and minced chili until the sugar has dissolved. Taste it: the dressing should taste very bold on its own because the cabbage and chicken will mellow it considerably.

Combine the squeezed cabbage, carrot cut into matchsticks, and very thinly sliced red onion in a bowl. To mellow the sharpness of the onion and turn it pink, soak it in lemon water for 10 minutes.

Toss the chicken, vegetables, and coarsely chopped herbs with the dressing by hand; do not use a spoon. Sprinkle the peanuts and fried shallots on top and serve immediately. The salad becomes watery as it sits, so the only solution is to keep the dressing separate until serving.