Vietnamese Chicken Salad (Goi Ga)
Crunchy Vietnamese Chicken Salad Recipe (Goi Ga) – A light and healthy chicken and cabbage salad that is gluten-free and paleo-friendly!
Vietnamese Goi Ga
I grew up in a city that has a significant Vietnamese population. Therefore, long before I had an appreciation for more popular international cuisines, I loved Vietnamese cuisine.
From noodle soups to noodle salad bowls, and banh mi sandwiches, I haven’t met a Vietnamese dish I haven’t liked… And I crave it above all other national foods.
In college, I made a habit of visiting a particular Vietnamese restaurant once a week with a friend. On my limited student budget, their lunch specials were a bargain!
Each meal came with an appetizer portion of Vietnamese Cold Chicken Salad (Goi Ga), a crunchy chilled salad with a bold zesty flavor, and shredded chicken speckled throughout.
Goi Ga Recipe
Now that we live hundreds of miles away from my favorite Vietnamese lunch spot, I have to make these dishes at home.
Although some Vietnamese recipes are complicated, Vietnamese Cold Chicken Salad (Goi Ga) is extremely quick and simple.
It’s crisp, fragrant, and loaded with veggies, with a tangy-sweet punch from the nuoc cham dressing. Plus, it easily fits into most diet plans!
Make a big bowl of Vietnamese Cold Chicken Salad (Goi Ga) on Monday and take it for lunch throughout the week. Or serve it as a light dinner any night of the week.
You are going to love it!!
Vietnamese Chicken Salad Ingredients
For the Vietnamese Chicken Salad:
- Shredded Napa Cabbage
- Cold Cooked Shredded Chicken (you can use leftovers or a rotisserie chicken)
- Roughly Chopped Fresh Mint
- Shredded Carrots
- Thinly Sliced Red Onion
- Roughly Chopped Fresh Cilantro
- Chopped Roasted Peanuts (you can use cashews to make this paleo-friendly)
For the Nuoc Cham Dressing:
- Fresh Lime Juice
- Water
- Honey
- Fish Sauce
- Chili Garlic Sauce
How To Make Vietnamese Chicken Salad
This recipe is super easy and is full of flavor!
- Prep your ingredients by chopping, slicing, and shredding the ingredients needed for the salad.
- Mix all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Whisk together the lime juice, water, honey, fish sauce, and chili garlic sauce in a small bowl to make the dressing for the salad.
- When you are ready to serve the salad, pour the dressing over the top and toss it well.
Get the Full (Printable) Goi Ga Vietnamese Chicken Salad Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is goi ga?
Goi ga is a Vietnamese salad recipe that is crunchy and usually has chicken in it! What makes this goi ga recipe so good is the flavorful and zesty homemade dressing!
How long does this salad last?
The salad mix without the dressing tossed in can last around 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. If the dressing is tossed in and you have leftovers, then I would recommend eating the leftovers within 24 to 36 hours.
Can I add in any kind of meat?
Yes, you can substitute the chicken in this recipe for other meats of choice. Turkey or pork loin would both be a good option for this.
What other dressings would taste great with this salad?
Changing the dressing will make this Vietnamese classic something entirely new. However, feel free to try it with ranch, avocado ranch, balsamic vinaigrette, greek dressing, or lemon aioli sauce.
Other Great Salad Recipes
- Israeli Salad (Chopped Salad Recipe)
- Vietnamese Bahn Mi Salad Recipe
- The Ultimate Southern Chicken Salad Recipe
- Mexican Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe
- Southwest Chicken Caesar Salad Recipe
- Israeli Salad (Chopped Salad Recipe)
Vietnamese Chicken Salad Recipe (Goi Ga)
Video
Ingredients
For the Vietnamese Cold Chicken Salad:
- 6 cups shredded napa cabbage
- 2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken, cold (use leftovers or a rotisserie chicken)
- 3/4 cup fresh mint, roughly chopped
- 3/4 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 red onion, peeled and sliced thin
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts (cashews for paleo-friendly)
For the Nuoc Cham Dressing:
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablspoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
Instructions
- Place all the salad ingredients in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, water, honey, fish sauce, and chili garlic sauce.
- When ready to serve, pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.
This dish was delicious!!! Light, refreshing and flavorful :) will definitely be making again… thank you!
Trust me and add mango
made this using the jar method. dressing on bottom, followed by chicken and onion then remainkng ingredients except nuts. makes 6 750ml wide mouth jars and k dump onto plate, mix it up and add nuts when im ready to eat. its my lunches and my husband has been known to steal them too. so yummy!
This is one of the best new recipes I have found in years. And just in time for summer. I didn’t add the mint, because I don’t commonly like it in food, and I used dry honey roasted peanuts, which I think added to the flavor. I used rotisserie chicken and prepared and separated all the ingredients in Ziploc bags before I got to the gathering so it would be as fresh and crisp as possible by tossing it all together there. I also used ginger dressing from a local Japanese restaurant instead of the dressing in the recipe. It was easy and so delicious. It was a huge hit.