Goi Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Salad) Recipe

Goi ga, or Vietnamese chicken salad, is a refreshing and flavorful dish that proves that salads can be a full meal. This vibrant salad combines tender, marinated chicken with a crisp mix of vegetables, fresh herbs, and a zesty dressing for a perfect balance of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy flavors.

Written by Ksenia Prints of At the Immigrant's Table, this salad is firmly rooted within Vietnamese flavors and has a hefty dose of influence from French cuisine. This salad, or "goi," relies on fresh vegetables as its base but is augmented by the roasted chicken leftovers that were brought into regular rotation by the French. In Vietnamese cuisine, which goes way beyond pho, salads like this goi ga are often served during Tet (Lunar New Year) celebrations and other festive occasions, symbolizing freshness and new beginnings.

In our dish, we bypass using leftover roasted chicken (though you are more than welcome to do so) and make our own pan-fried chicken thighs in a Vietnamese-style sauce. The resulting salad is not only delicious but is also a healthy and light meal option, from the crunchy cabbage and carrots to the tender chicken and crispy fried shallots. The fish sauce–based dressing adds depth and umami to the salad, making it a stand-alone main that you would be foolish to overlook.

To make this salad, you will need a combination of fresh ingredients and a few sauces. For the chicken marinade, gather fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, and dried chiles. The salad itself requires boneless, skinless chicken thighs, broccoli florets, cabbage, carrots, mint, cilantro, red onion, peanuts, and fried shallots. For the dressing, you'll need additional fish sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, lime juice, and sugar. 

Make the chicken marinade: In a shallow dish, combine the fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, and dried chiles.

Add the chicken thighs and marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat a large pan with a bit of oil over medium heat.

Pan-sear the marinated chicken thighs until cooked through, about 5–6 minutes per side.

Remove from the pan and let cool fully.

Dice into ¼-inch cubes.

Make the salad: In a large bowl, combine the broccoli florets, shredded cabbage, julienned carrots, mint, cilantro, and sliced onion.

Mix well and transfer to a serving platter.

Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients.

Add the chicken to the salad.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to coat evenly.

Top with the peanuts and fried shallots.

Serve the salad, garnished with lime wedges.

You can partially prepare this Vietnamese chicken salad ahead of time, but it's best to keep the crunchy vegetables and the sauce separate until serving to maintain the salad's texture. You can marinate and cook the chicken thighs, dice and combine the vegetable salad, and mix the dressing and store it in the fridge for up to 2 days. Then, when you're ready to serve, simply combine the prepared ingredients and add the fresh herbs, peanuts, and fried shallots. This will maintain the best flavor and texture while still enabling you to cut the work into manageable portions.

If you have any leftover salad, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. The vegetables may lose some crispness and the herbs will wilt slightly, but the flavors will meld and keep nicely. 

There are plenty of ways to customize this salad to suit everyone's tastes. First, feel free to play around with the veggies. Consider incorporating kohlrabi, jícama, or daikon radish for added crunch that will not feel out of place in this Vietnamese dish. Fruits, such as green mango or papaya, will also help brighten up the salad and add a sweet-tart dimension. You can switch around the herbs, adding Thai basil or perilla leaves to add new aromatic notes to the dish. Instead of the chicken marinade we use here, you can whip up our lemongrass chicken, which has a lot more spice and flavor. 

Some changes may be necessary for dietary reasons. If you're serving this to a vegetarian, you can swap the chicken for crispy fried tofu or tempeh that's marinated in the same sauce. For those with peanut allergies, cashews or sunflower seeds can replace peanuts. You can adjust the heat or sweetness in the dressing by adding homemade sriracha or honey. Finally, for a fun presentation twist, try serving the salad in lettuce cups or wrapped in rice paper like a spring roll. This will help make the dish portable and fun to eat.