Vietnamese Shredded Chicken Salad (Ga Xe Phay)

This easy Vietnamese chicken salad (Ga Xe Phay) is made with shredded chicken breast, cabbage, herbs, and roasted peanuts, then drizzled with sweet and salty fish sauce dressing. Enjoy the crunchy texture and the flavors of sweet, sour, and salty with a hint of heat!

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

When the summer heat is on the rise, a cool and crisp salad seems so refreshing. Southeast Asian dishes are great for that. I love making this simple Vietnamese shredded chicken salad (Ga Xe Phay) with poached chicken breast and cabbage for an easy meal on hot summer days.

Vietnamese style salads always offer a tantalizing combination of textures and flavors. Here, crisp and cool cabbage contrasts with the tender and moist chicken. And the crunchy roasted peanut and the fried shallots give pleasant bites in the mouth. The fragrance of herbs, mint and cilantro, and the sweet-sour-and salty fish sauce dressing (Nuoc Mam) are just perfect to bind them all together.

Getting the chicken moist and tender is the key for this salad. I used chicken breast. If you boil the chicken breast in water just to cook, your chicken can be dry and tough, and often has gamey smell. You don’t want that, so poach the breast instead. You will be pleasantly surprised at the moist and tender result.

Food can trigger powerful memories. A plate of this Vietnamese chicken salad brings to me all the wonderful memories of places in Vietnam and the Mekong Delta region that my family and I traveled to many years ago.

Enjoy this chicken salad as is, or serve with rice vermicelli for an even more satisfying meal. You will taste Vietnam without flying there!

How to Poach Chicken Breast for Vietnamese Chicken Salad

It’s important to have tender and moist chicken for this salad. The poaching method works the best to achieve that. Chicken breasts are plunged into a boiling hot stock first. Then after short time, the pot is removed from the heat and chicken is left to cook in the residual heat.

• Add a few thin slices of ginger in a pot of water. Bring to boil.
• Add the chicken, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Remove the pot from heat, and leave chicken breast to stand with lid on for 20 minutes or longer.
• Shred the chicken breast.

Crisping Salad Vegetables

Soak shredded cabbage, carrot, and onion in cold water for 10-15 minutes, then drain. The cold water will crisp up the vegetables and keep them fresh. It also helps onion to taste mellower. If you don’t use the crisped salad vegetables right away, keep them in the refrigerator until ready.

Palm Sugar or Brown Sugar for Ga Xe Phay

Palm sugar is a sweetener extracted from the palm tree. This unrefined sugar is commonly used in many southeastern Asian cuisines. The golden color of palm sugar resembles brown sugar or turbinado sugar, but it has a taste more similar to caramel or butterscotch.

You can find solid palm sugar in most Asian grocery stores or you can purchase it online. I recommend palm sugar for any Vietnamese recipes for its unique sweetness. You can, however, substitute with brown sugar or even white sugar with the same amount if palm sugar is not available.

How to soften palm sugar

• Palm sugar comes in solid chunks or blocks in the package when you purchase it. To soften, wet the palm sugar with some water, and put it in a small microwave safe bowl. Cover and microwave for 30-45 seconds or until it softens. Use the softened palm sugar immediately.
• If you want to keep the palm sugar in a liquid or paste form, add a tablespoon of water to 3 pieces of wet palm sugar, and heat in the microwave for 30-40 seconds. Keep the softened palm sugar in an airtight container. If the sugar solidifies again, just microwave for 10-15 seconds to soften it again.

Fish Sauce Dressing (Nuoc Mam)

• Add boiling water to softened palm sugar (or brown sugar) and let the sugar dissolve. Add the garlic, chili, fish sauce, vinegar, and lime juice, and stir well.
• Combine shredded chicken, salad vegetables, and herbs in a large mixing bowl. Pour about 1/3 cup of dressing to the salad and toss well. Add more dressing to get your preferred taste.
• Garnish salad with chopped peanuts and crisp-fried shallots (if using) and serve immediately.

Try Other Summer Salad Recipes

• Classic Thai Beef Salad (Yum Nua)
• Vietnamese Mango Shrimp Salad (Gỏi Xoài)
• Crisp Korean Beef Salad With Citron Tea Dressing
• Cabbage Ramen Salad

Vietnamese Shredded Chicken Salad (Ga Xe Phay)

Holly Ford

This easy Vietnamese chicken salad is made with shredded chicken breast, cabbage, herbs, and roasted peanuts, then drizzled with sweet and salty fish sauce dressing.

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Comment

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 45 mins

Course Lunch, Salad

Cuisine Asian, Vietnamese

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For salad

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breast
• 4 cup shredded cabbage
• 1 carrot shredded
• 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
• 2 cup mixed fresh herbs such as cilantro and mint chopped
• 3 tbsp roasted peanut finely chopped
• 3 tbsp fried shallot

For fish sauce dressing (nuoc mam)

• 4 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1-2 fresh red chili minced
• 3 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp lime juice

Instructions

 

• To poach chicken breast, add a few thin slices of ginger in a pot of water. Bring to boil. Add the chicken, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pot from heat, and leave chicken breast to stand with lid on for 20 minutes or longer. Shred the chicken breast; set aside.
• To make the fish sauce dressing, Put palm sugar (or brown sugar) in a small mixing bowl. Add boiling water to dissolve the sugar. Add the garlic, chili, fish sauce, vinegar, and lime juice, and stir well.
• To assemble the salad, combine shredded chicken, salad vegetables, and herbs in a large mixing bowl. Pour about 1/3 cup of dressing to the salad and toss well. Add more dressing to get your preferred taste.
• Garnish salad with chopped peanuts and crisp-fried shallots (if using) and serve immediately.

Keyword chicken breast, chicken salad, fish sauce, ga xe phay, nuoc mam, palm sugar, shredded chicken breast, vietnamese chicken salad

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