Best Vietnamese Chicken Salad (Ga Xe Phay)

This Vietnamese chicken salad (Ga Xe Phay) is burst of Vietnamese flavors. Heart-healthy chicken breast, shredded cabbage, and fresh herbs are tossed a delicious Vietnamese salad dressing. Poached chicken makes this shredded chicken salad extra tender and moist.

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 chicken salad (Ga Xe Phay) with poached chicken breast and cabbage for an easy meal on hot summer days.

Vietnamese salad always offer a tantalizing combination of textures and flavors. Here, crisp and cool cabbage contrasts with the tender and moist shredded chicken breast. 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 Vietnamese salad dressing (Nuoc Mam) made with fish sauce are just perfect to bind all together.

Use poached chicken breast for Vietnamese salad

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. Juicy chicken in every bite!

Food can trigger powerful memories. A plate of this Vietnamese chicken salad and the Vietnamese chicken curry bring 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 Vietnamese noodles (rice vermicelli) for an even more satisfying meal. You will taste Vietnam without flying there!

Vietnamese salad dressing

Palm sugar is widely used in making Vietnamese chicken salad dressing. It 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, especially for Vietnamese style salad, for its unique sweetness. You can, however, substitute with brown sugar with the same amount if palm sugar is not available.

Tips for making best Vietnamese chicken salad

• Use poached chicken breast – It’s important to have tender and moist chicken for this salad. The poaching method works the best to achieve that.
  • To prepare, first plunge chicken breasts into a pot of boiling hot stock. After a short time, remove the pot from the heat and allow the chicken to cook in the residual heat.
• Crisp-up the salad vegetables – soak the shredded cabbage and carrot in cold water for a few minutes.
• Use palm sugar if you can find – or use brown sugar
• Use Rice vermicelli noodles if you want your salad to be more filling, but it is optional.

How to make Vietnamese chicken salad (Ga Xe Phay)

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.

Crisp-up 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.

Make Vietnamese 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.

Serving suggestions

Garnish salad with chopped peanuts and crisp-fried shallots (if using) and serve immediately. This shredded chicken salad is a great for low carb dieters.

If you don’t mind the carb, serve this chicken salad over Vietnamese vermicelli noodles for a more satisfying meal. It makes a great chicken noodle salad.

Try Other Summer Salad Recipes

• Classic Thai Green Papaya Salad (Som Tam)
• Light Thai Glass Noodle Salad (Yum Woon Sen)
• Korean Chicken Salad (Dak Nangchae)
• Classic Thai Beef Salad (Yum Nua)
• Vietnamese Mango Shrimp Salad (Gỏi Xoài)
• Cabbage Ramen Salad