Goi Ga – Vietnamese Chicken Salad Recipe

From https://iamafoodblog.com

This Vietnamese chicken salad is perfect for summer; it’s bright, fresh, crisp, and just a tiny bit (optionally) spicy. It’s so good on its own, as a side, or as a taco or burrito filling.

Salad: this is a simple crisp raw cabbage salad with fresh herbs and lightly poached chicken. Traditionally the herbs are what my mom would refer to as rau song – fresh greens – which means lots of Vietnamese herbs like Vietnamese coriander, perilla, thai basil, mint, etc.

The chicken is poached Hainanese style, which is not a thing that’s done in Vietnam but I’ve loved it since being married to Steph, and it’s not extra work so it’s silly not to. It just means that you poach the chicken with ginger and green onions. The resulting broth is one of the best, easiest chicken broths around too, and you can use it to boost your Hainanese Chicken Rice game.

Ingredients:

1 green onion
1 inch ginger cut into matchsticks
12 ounces boneless skinless chicken thighs
For the dressing
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 Thai bird’s eye chili sliced, optional
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce see note
juice of 1 lime
For the salad
1 small cabbage shaved or thinly sliced
1/4 small onion sliced
1/4 cup fresh mint roughly chopped
1 cup cilantro roughly chopped
1 ripe avocado cubed

Instructions

Bring 2 cups of very lightly salted water to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the green onions, half of the ginger, and the chicken. Add water as needed to cover your chicken. When the water comes back up to a boil, drop the heat to low and poach, keeping the liquid below a boil, for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, make your dressing. Combine the garlic, chili, sugar, lime juice, and fish sauce in a jar, along with the remaining ginger and 1 cup of cold water. Stir or shake well to mix, then set aside.

When the chicken is done, remove the thighs to a bowl or cutting board. Save the chicken broth for another use. Shred the chicken.

In a large platter or salad bowl, combine your cabbage, onion, mint, cilantro, and shredded chicken. Top with the dressing, and then toss well. Top with your cubed avocado(es) before serving.

Notes: Look for fish sauce bottles labeled mam nhi (first press). I also topped the salad with commercial fried onions/shallots.