🇻🇳 Vietnamese
Vietnamese Chicken Salad (Gỏi Gà)
⏱ 25 min
🍞 ~10g (full plate with dressing)
🍽 4 servings
⭐ 4/5
⚠️ Estimates only — not medical advice. Carb counts vary by brand and portion. Always verify with your endo or CDCES.
🌍 Cultural note
Gỏi gà is the Vietnamese version of a chopped salad — shredded poached chicken, crunchy cabbage, sweet onion, fresh herbs, fried shallots, peanuts, and a punchy lime-fish sauce dressing. In Vietnamese homes, this is what mom makes when she wants something light but flavorful — often when somebody's been a little under the weather, or when it's hot outside and nobody wants to cook much. Naturally low-carb, totally satisfying.
Why this recipe is T1D-friendly
- One of the lowest-carb Vietnamese dishes — almost everything in the bowl is non-starchy
- Crunchy cabbage and onion give the texture-and-fill factor without rice or noodles
- High protein and natural fats (peanuts, sesame oil) keep kids satisfied
- The dressing carries all the flavor with a tiny bit of monk fruit instead of sugar
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs (0g)
- 4 cups shredded green cabbage (8g)
- 1 cup shredded red cabbage (for color) (3g)
- 1 small carrot, julienned or grated (5g)
- ½ small red onion, very thinly sliced (4g)
- 1 cup fresh Vietnamese coriander (rau răm) or cilantro (1g)
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves (1g)
- ¼ cup crushed roasted peanuts (5g)
- 3 tbsp crispy fried shallots (store-bought is great) (4g)
- 1 lime, cut in wedges (1g)
Dressing (a version of nước chấm)
- 3 tbsp lime juice (4g)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce (1g)
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar (0g)
- 1 tbsp monk fruit (or 1 tbsp sugar = 12g) (0–12g)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (2g)
- ½ Thai chili, minced (optional, for grown-ups) (0g)
- 2 tbsp water (0g)
For poaching the chicken
- 1 (2-inch) piece ginger, smashed (1g)
- 2 scallions, halved (1g)
- 1 tsp salt (0g)
- Water to cover (0g)
Directions
- Poach the chicken: place chicken in a saucepan with ginger, scallions, and salt. Cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a gentle simmer, cook 12–15 minutes until just cooked through.
- Remove chicken, let cool 10 minutes, then shred with two forks (save the cooking broth — it's a great soup base).
- While chicken cooks, soak sliced red onion in cold water with a splash of vinegar for 10 minutes to tame the bite. Drain.
- Make the dressing: whisk lime juice, fish sauce, rice vinegar, monk fruit, garlic, chili (if using), and water. Taste — should be punchy, balanced, salty-sour-sweet.
- In a large bowl, combine shredded chicken, both cabbages, carrot, drained onion, herbs, and most of the peanuts (save some for topping).
- Pour dressing over and toss thoroughly with hands or tongs — you want everything coated.
- Let sit 5 minutes for the cabbage to slightly soften and absorb the dressing.
- Plate the salad, top with remaining peanuts, fried shallots, and a few extra herb leaves.
- Serve lime wedges on the side.
- Eat immediately while still crunchy.
Dash's kid tips 🐆
- Dash says fried shallots on top are like Vietnamese "crouton" — kids love them
- Use mostly cilantro and mint for kid plates, skip the rau răm (it's strong)
- Shred chicken extra fine for younger kids; bigger pieces for school-age
- Serve in a butter lettuce cup as a "taco" for picky eaters