If you want a light and healthy dinner dish, try my mom’s Vietnamese chicken salad (gỏi gà bắp cải) recipe, which features shredded chicken thighs, pickled onions, a whole head of finely shredded green cabbage, other fresh veggies, and a sweet-and-tangy dressing. This easy salad can be made entirely from scratch or sped up with premade chicken and other ingredients for a quick meal.
Ingredients in Vietnamese chicken salad
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make Vietnamese chicken salad at home:
- Shredded chicken is the main protein in this salad, and we boil boneless, skinless chicken thighs in a seasoned broth until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F. Once the chicken cools, you can shred it into small pieces. However, if you don’t have time, you can also use store-bought roasted chicken.
- Vegetables make up the bulk of this salad. We use a whole head of shredded green cabbage, carrots, chili peppers, cilantro, and rau rǎm leaves. There is a lot of fiber in this salad!
- Quick-pickled onions add a touch of tangy spiciness to the fresh veggies.
- The salad dressing for this dish is a simple combination of fish sauce, white vinegar, cane sugar, and water. It’s easy to whip up, so we wouldn’t recommend mixing this with the vegetables until you’re about to serve them to prevent wilting. You can also substitute certain ingredients, such as white vinegar for lemon or lime juice, for a citrus flavor.
- Lastly, there are the toppings of fried shallots and nutty roasted peanuts sprinkled on top of the salad to give an extra crunchy texture.
Tools for shredding cabbage
There are many tools for shredding cabbage, such as an Asian vegetable peeler (dao bào), a food processor, a mandolin, or even just a sharp knife. We prefer using a mandolin slicer because it gives very thin and uniform strips of cabbage. However, we recommend wearing a cut-proof glove to prevent any accidents.
Salad dressing ingredients
While this dressing recipe is similar to nước chấm, it’s much sweeter and tangier than the common dipping sauce. This Vietnamese chicken salad dressing calls for:
- White vinegar adds a nice tangy flavor to this dressing. You can also use lemon juice for a citrus flavor, but it won’t be as tangy.
- Water for dilution: if you heat the water for about 15 seconds in the microwave and mix in the sugar, the sugar dissolves more easily.
- Fish sauce for saltiness and umami. We like Red Boat fish sauce because of its pure ingredients and stronger flavor.
- Cane sugar for sweetness. You can adjust the sweetness level if you want a less sweet dressing.
Toppings
All our favorite salads have an element of added texture. We like to add fried shallot slices and roasted peanuts for more flavor and additional crunch. If you have the time, you can make fried shallots at home. For an easier assembly, you can buy fried shallot slices at your grocery store. In American markets, you can find them in the salad aisle or next to the fresh greens, and in Asian markets, they should be in the dried fruit and vegetable aisles or in the grains.
How to serve this chicken salad
You can serve Vietnamese chicken salad as an entree or side dish for any meal. Some favorite dishes to eat alongside this salad are:
- Vietnamese pork chop (sườn nướng)
- bún thịt nướng (Vietnamese grilled pork & rice noodles)
- thịt kho (Vietnamese braised pork with eggs)
- Vietnamese spicy lemongrass chicken (gà xào sả ớt).
You can mix the chicken and vegetables ahead of time; however, don’t add the toppings or dressing until right before serving to prevent wilting. Some restaurants, like Brodard Chateau, we’ve eaten at have also served Vietnamese chicken salad with crispy shrimp crackers for even more flavor.
Making ahead & storage
You can mix all the salad ingredients and store them for serving later. But like any other salad, don’t add dressing until just before eating. Same with the fried shallots or peanuts—leave them with the dressing on the side, and let people add them to their plates after they get their own salad.
Vietnamese Chicken Cabbage Salad (Gỏi Gà Bắp Cải)
Ingredients
Chicken
- 8 oz chicken thigh boneless skinless
- 4 ¼ c water
- ½ medium onion cut into quarters
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp cane sugar
- ½ tsp MSG
Pickled onions
- 1 medium white onion thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 1 tbsp vinegar
Dressing
- 4 tbsp white vinegar
- 4 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp granulated cane sugar
Salad
- 3 c thinly shredded head green cabbage cut with mandolin on largest thickness
- 1 c thinly julienned carrot cut with mandolin using shredding attachment
- 1 c pickled onions from above
- ½ c chopped cilantro
- 1 bunch rau ram leaves only (15 stems)
- 1 large red chile or jalapeno sliced thinly, optional
Toppings
- crushed roasted peanuts
- fried shallots homemade or store-bought
Equipment Used
- measuring cups and spoons
- knife and cutting board
- mixing bowls
- Pot for boiling chicken
- mandolin with shredding attachment optional
- cut proof gloves optional
Instructions
Chicken
- In a pot over medium-high heat, add the 4 ¼ c water, ½ medium onion, 1 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp cane sugar, and ½ tsp MSG.
- Bring to a boil and then gently add the 8 oz chicken thigh.
- Cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F and transfer to a plate to cool.
Pickled onions
- Slice the 1 medium white onion thin, then immediately put them in a large bowl filled with water to reduce some of the spiciness and preserve the crunch.
- Transfer them into a separate bowl with a mixture of 1 tbsp vinegar and 2 tbsp cold water to soak for 10-15 minutes.
- Strain the onions before adding to the salad. If you aren’t using the onions yet, store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
Dressing
- In a bowl, combine 2 tbsp fish sauce, 4 tbsp white vinegar, 4 tbsp water, and 2 tbsp granulated cane sugar. Whisk until the sugar dissolves completely.
- Adjust to taste. If you want it saltier, add more fish sauce. If you want to balance out the sweetness and prefer tart flavors, add more vinegar. Set aside until assembly.
Assembly
- Using a mandolin and cut-resistant gloves, shred the cabbage head to 3-4 mm thick.
- Add a shredding attachment to the mandolin, set the thickness to about 2 mm, and shred the carrots. Use your fingers to separate the pieces once finished.
- Clean the cabbage and carrots with water and remove any dirt. Use a salad spinner to remove excess water. Add the shredded cabbage and carrots to a large mixing bowl.
- Use your hands to gently shred the chicken into small pieces. Add the chicken to the large mixing bowl.
- Remove the leaves from the rau ram stems, then chop the cilantro into small pieces. Add the leaves and cilantro to the large mixing bowl.
- In a large salad bowl, combine the chicken, 3 c thinly shredded head green cabbage , 1 c thinly julienned carrot , 1 bunch rau ram , ½ c chopped cilantro, 1 large red chile or jalapeno, and 1 c pickled onions . Mix thoroughly.
- Pour the dressing over the greens and mix again until coated.
- Top with crushed roasted peanuts and fried shallots. Serve immediately.
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As always your recipes sound so delicious! I will try this one this week!
Thanks Trev let me know what ya think!
Could the quick-pickled onions and dressing be prepped the night before?
Yep! Just don’t add anything into the salad until you serve it.