Vietnamese chicken thigh salad with cucumbers, carrots, watermelon radish. Topped with peanuts and herbs.

Here’s a recipe I unearthed from the archive of notebooks I own with ideas and jotted down recipes from past jobs. This Vietnamese chicken salad was actually given to me by my mom. I ~~stole~~ asked her for it when I was working at a “healthy dining” concept restaurant. While her recipe had shrimp, vegetables, bean thread noodles and a fish sauce dressing, mine is a bit more pared down. I keep it easy with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, some chopped crunchy vegetables and dressing. No noodles to cook or shrimp to devein or peel and it happens to be gluten-free and healthy! If you can’t eat peanuts, leave them off or substitute cashews.

Chicken cooking options for this Vietnamese chicken salad.

watch the video here!

With cooking boneless, skinless thighs, you have several options on how to cook them. Firstly, you can broil them in the oven, flipping them over halfway through. Secondly, you can cook them easily in a skillet. Use medium-high heat, flipping them often to avoid over-browning. Third, you can always cook these outside on a grill. They’ll cook so quickly since they’re boneless and fairly thin. Whichever method you choose, they’ll all turn out tasty. Chicken breasts can be substituted but I would use a thin, chicken cutlet. For vegetarians, the chicken could be substituted with firm tofu.

Can substitutions be made for the vegetables in this chicken salad?

The answer to this is yes! Choose crunchy, sturdy vegetables that will hold up well. I’ve chosen cucumbers, carrots and radishes here but shredded cabbage, shaved Brussels sprouts, kale, jicama, celery… anything with some crunch could work. Even peeled, thinly sliced broccoli stems could be tasty! A standard leaf salad such as arugula, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes is nice too. This salad is great for when you want to do minimal cooking and it’s too hot for a heavy meal but you still want it to be filling. Otherwise known as the Perfect Summer Salad.

Don’t be alarmed by the amount of sugar in the dressing!

Vietnamese chicken salad plated — A perfect light, summer meal.

It’s there for a reason and that’s to thwart any overt tartness from all the lime juice. The traditional vietnamese dipping sauce/dressing is always a delicate balance of tart, sweet, salty and spicy. I love how it’s a combination of very bold flavors balanced in liquid suspension. Most versions I’ve had of this sauce in restaurants is very watered down to dilute the fish sauce. Don’t be tempted to do that to this Vietnamese chicken salad! You’ll be missing out.

Hopefully, with fish sauce becoming more and more common almost everywhere, people won’t be so intimidated by its’ pungency. Fish sauce is liquid gold! Add a dash to anything and you’ll be amazed how just a few drops improves savoriness and flavor in foods. I am an advocate for Red Boat fish sauce (which my mom buys by the case). It’s definitely the best but if you don’t want to get the gold standard, go for the Three Crabs brand. Available in a lot of common grocery stores now and definitely at asian markets.

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5 from 7 votes