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I am eating this right now at work, and everyone is jealous. It tastes like a spring roll in salad form and I’m obsessed.
2015, I love you already.
This salad is the flavor bomb of my life. I am trying to really put into words how much my mouth loves this combination of fresh and unexpected flavors, crunchy-filling textures, and nutritious food power. But mostly all I can do is just close my eyes and ask myself: is it crossing the line to eat this for breakfast?
This Vietnamese-Inspired Chicken Salad starts with the tangy, salty, lime-and-garlic-y dressing, which totally shines with the cooling mint + cilantro and a handful of fiery-crisp serrano peppers, which all results in me wrapping my fork with a combination of spicy-cool, salty-tangy veggies, chicken, and NOODLES (♡♡♡).
Yahhssss.
How To Make Our Vietnamese-Inspired Chicken Salad:
Even though I am not a teacher anymore, I feel like I am forever entitled to a two week teacher-schedule-style winter break, which is totally ridiculous and not even close to realistic in real life but, um, hi. I would still like to have it.
So while Bjork and I did some work here and there and at all odd hours of the night like true Internet people over the last two weeks, we’ve had some really awesome time to get up and out from behind the computer and be alive.
After the week of Christmas (parties, sick days, and out-of-town-friend-visits, oh my!), we split ways: Bjork took a week-long road trip with some friends, visiting cool hipster donut shops and eating, uhh, how do we say this? rustic? hot dogs from mom-and-pop stands around Chicago, while I, on the other hand, had a week full of slumber parties with my sisters and girlfriends, including sushi dates, a popcorn-and-ice-cream viewing of The Vow (Channing + Rachel + me being shamelessly obsessed), and shopping for post-Christmas-sales and new running gear for my healthy New Self in the New Year.
Speaking of which!
I am probably going to be eating 50x my daily recommended amount of chicken, cabbage, carrots, noodles, mint, cilantro, and Vietnamese-style dressing in the first week of the New Year. You guys, this is one major vegetable party! I’m glowing just thinking about it.
This recipe was inspired by a recipe for a Vietnamese salad out of the new Saveur cookbook that I got for Christmas, which I have decided to read COVER TO COVER like a true food geek. Not joking. I have never read a cookbook cover to cover, but I’m currently halfway through and have at least 800 pages earmarked with delicious recipe ideas to try, so I’m thinking I might make it a life rule for cookbooks.
This Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Rice Noodles <— important! is so, so, so, sooo yummy. Like to the point that I can’t even think of anything else to say besides “it’s so, so, sooo yummy.”
The shredded carrots, cabbage, chicken, and noodles make the base of the salad, and the mint, cilantro, and green onions just make my flavor-loving heart soar: it’s like I’m taking a cooling spa bath with every bite.
And then, the dressing. I’m just going to tell you right now: its primary saltiness comes from the fish sauce, which is not going to smell awesome when you give the bottle a sniff BUT YOU GUYS. Please, please, please don’t skip it. Remember how delicious the fish sauce is in this red curry sauce? Same goes for this one. I honestly feel like the fish sauce is what makes the dressing, because paired with the lime and the rice vinegar and the sugar and the garlic? Ugh. So much good going on in there.
Yeah. Like, ultra yeah.
Three cheers for the salad in 2015!
Source notes: This recipe isn’t a true Vietnamese salad but rather has Vietnamese-inspired flavors and ingredients, like fish sauce, lime juice, serrano peppers, and rice vinegar. For a delicious and more authentic Vietnamese salad, we’d recommend Kaylie’s Goi Ga salad recipe.
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Vietnamese-Inspired Chicken Salad with Rice Noodles
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Rice Noodles made with chicken, cabbage, carrots, homemade dressing, lime juice, mint, and cilantro. Adapted from the Vietnamese Chicken Salad in the Saveur New Classics cookbook.
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- 3 serrano peppers
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons fish sauce
- 6 tablespoons lime juice
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
For the Salad
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 6 ounces rice noodles
- 4 large carrots, peeled
- 8–10 full leaves of green cabbage
- one large handful of each — cilantro leaves, mint leaves, and green onions
Instructions
- DRESSING: Thinly slice the serranos and set aside. Pulse all the remaining dressing ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Stir in the sliced serranos.
- CHICKEN: Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. When the water reaches a rolling boil, add the chicken breasts, turn heat off, and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Let the chicken cook for 25-30 minutes – while it’s cooking, you can prep the other ingredients. Remove from water, let cool slightly, and shred with two forks. Pour a small amount of the prepared dressing on the chicken to give it flavor and set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.
- NOODLES: Soak the rice noodles in a large bowl of cold water for 15 minutes or until softened. Heat a small amount of the dressing in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the drained noodles and stir-fry for 5 minutes (I found it helpful to grab the handle and give the pan a good shake every 30 seconds or so). Cut through the noodles with a kitchen scissors if you want them to be shorter and easier to eat.
- VEGETABLES: Cut the carrots into pieces and pulse in a food processor for 10-15 seconds until finely chopped. Shred the cabbage. Mince the cilantro, mint, and green onions.
- ASSEMBLY: Toss the chicken, noodles, vegetables, and remaining dressing (to taste) together. Serve immediately.
Notes
I loved the little bite of heat with this recipe! I would describe it as mild++. But if you are nervous about the level of spiciness, just remove the ribs and seeds before adding the peppers to the dressing.
If you’re assembling the recipe ahead of time, I would suggest keeping the veggies separate from the dressing, and tossing it together just before serving.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Vietnamese-Inspired
Keywords: vietnamese salad, vietnamese chicken salad, rice noodle salad
The flavours were good, but I followed the instructions for the noodles, and they turned out chewy and still hard. I would just cook the noodles to package instructions in hot water next time.
This has been on my recipe bucket list all summer – finally made it last night- very good and thank you! – However, after tasting it a few hours after it was made ( I was on an errand during dinner) it was not as aromatic as I would have liked so I added a tbsp of addtional lime juice, fish sauce , a tsp or two of the brown sugar, more minced mint and itdefinitely include a good tbsp. of minced basil to this dish – now it is awesome! – And folks, -don’t be squeamish about the fish sauce- it won’t taste fish-y – Just don’t smell it out of the bottle! Lol – This delicious dish is now on my summer time rotation!
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe! My whole family loved it so much!I chopped up 2 small Serrano peppers because I didn’t want it too spicy. I tried one teeny piece before I added it to the dressing. Thank God I did because it set my lips & mouth on fire! So, I ended up putting only a couple of small pieces in, just to flavor the dressing. I think next time I may add some chopped peanuts on top for crunch.
This was amazing! I was in a bit of a rush so I used rotisserie chicken breast, and shredded cabbage and carrots in a bag. I mixed the dressing ingredients right into the bowl with the noodles, cabbage, and chicken. It came out perfect! This is my new favorite salad recipe!
This salad is delish! So good!
I made this last night for dinner on a very warm summer evening. I had just picked up my CSA so I made the following substitutions based on my veggie haul: garlic scapes for the garlic, mung bean sprouts for the cabbage and I was out of lime so I used lemons instead and a tiny bit more vinegar. Lastly, I used brown rice noodles. It came out delicious. I know that Lindsay recommended keeping things separate until you serve but I am a fan of the saucy leftovers with some added herbs to freshen it up.
Oh my! I love Vietnamese food. We have a couple of V restaurants in my area but I always want to try to make some those gorgeous looking Vietnamese food. I love your recipes !
Despite heating the noodles, is this to be a cold salad? Or do you heat it up prior to eating?
This was a fantastic dinner. Would definitely make this again.
Looks really good. Would this dish go well with shrimp instead of chicken?
Thank you!
Yep, shrimp would be great here!
This was amazing! Since we are staying at home these days due to the Covid19 pandemic I improvised a bit on a few ingredients I had at home. Subbed romaine for the cabbage, parsley for the cilantro, chives for the green onions. Also used brown rice noodles and topped with peanuts. 10/10 will make again.
Glad you enjoyed this salad, Jenni! 😊
The cilantro mint and certainly the chills do not look minced?!
This was a huge hit! Bold flavor and i was surprised how the fish sauce (Yuck) disappeared but added depth and mild flavor.Family voted your recipe to be in our top rotation recipes. The only change I made was I used a Rotisserie chicken instead of boiling it to make it easier. Thank YOu for such a wonderful easy healthy meal.
Love that rotissiere chicken hack, Leslie. Thanks for sharing!
I don’t know if this is just me, but I found there to be way too much fish sauce in this recipe! I couldn’t even eat it. I’m sure it’s probably a personal preference issue because I have loved every other recipe I’ve tried from POY.
I’ve made this at least 3 times already and my family loves this!!!
I would love to taste something like this someday. I recently discovered is a new Oriental noodle house on Main Street in Newark, Delaware nearby “University of Delaware.” For the first time ever, I had a delicious bowl of soup consisting of bok choy, sliced scallops, shrimp, and the noodles with some of the vegetables in delicious soup broth. I believe the owners of the restaurant is from Brooklyn, New York. the bowl soup I had definitely tastes like something out of New York City, preferably tasting like something out of a restaurant off of Canal Street in Manhattan. I love that Oriental authentic taste of good food, whether Chinese, Thai, Korean or Vietnamese. Thank you so much for this thought-provoking post and keep up the good work on your “side hustle millionaire blogging.” 🙂
I loved this recipe! Didn’t have everything on hand so just improvised. Had about half the lime and oil and subbed the serrano for one tablespoon of sambal olek and it came out so great! 🙂 thank you!
Turned out DELICIOUS! I cooked my chicken in the instapot. I’m also not a fan of vegetable oil, so I used 3Tbs of Olive Oil and 3 Tbs Sesame Oil. I also used Coconut Aminos in place of brown sugar. I added a couple extra tablespoons of rice vinegar. Everything else for the dressing I kept the same. I chopped the cabbage instead of shredding it in the food processor because I prefer the texture that way. I love how you prep the rice noodles—I’ve never done it that way and the texture is so nice! This salad is super flavorful and I love the mild heat from the peppers. Thank you!
Also, I should add that I did need to leave the rice noodles soaking for at least 45 minutes to get them softened, but it worked!
Look delicious! we love your Vietnamese chicken salad recipe. Thanks
This recipe was a real disappointment. I was really looking forward to this for dinner, I followed the recipe and ended up with noodles that were stuck together and completely dry.
I’ve always wanted to try asian recipes but have been frightened away by a single ingredient. SUGAR. I’m a diabetic and struggle to keep my sugar levels down. I recognize that noodles are carbohydrates so it’s something I’ve learned to avoid when I can. Or decided to eat it but cut out other carbohydrates from my diet that day I’ll enjoy a noodle dish. I want to try lots of asian dishes but am turned off when I see sugar as an ingredient. I understand its there to balance the taste with the acidic flavors. How big a change in taste will it be to completely eliminate the sugar, reduce the amount used, or use other sweetners that won’t affect the glycemic levels in my body?
I also don’t like to use sugar. I used coconut aminos in place of the brown sugar and it turned out great! I also added sesame oil and olive oil in place of the vegetable oil. The flavor was awesome!
I would love to try this recipe. However I am one of those unlucky people who can not get fresh herbs of any kind. What do you think if I used dried mint and cilantro? If I were going to go that route, I don’t know how much of the dried I would need. Any Suggestions. Thankyou.
Hi there! Should work just fine. This should help to determine how much to use: https://www.marthastewart.com/270213/ratio-of-fresh-herbs-to-dry-herbs
Mmm! Made this last night. Garlic hurts my daughter so cut back to half a small clove, used agave (like her Spring roll bowl) cut back on cilantro and blended the herbs into the dressing. Wow! So good! I work in a school so will swap out peanuts to sunflower or pumpkin seeds for potluck.
Has anyone tried dialing back on the garlic or eliminating it? One of us can’t handle much of it. As for fish allergies and fish sauce, there are a couple of great vegetarian fish sauces available here (Canada). They are the preferred flavour in our house and at our favourite restaurant.
I literally love all the recipes from your site! I am ticking off the ingredients I have with me in anticipation of making this!