Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Cabbage
Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Cabbage is perfect to make with leftover chicken, and I love the Asian flavors in this slightly-spicy salad!
PIN Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Cabbage to try it later!
Many years ago one of my blogging friends posted a recipe that’s no longer online that she called Vietnamese Cole Slaw, and the minute I saw the recipe, I knew I’d be making some version of it. Glenna had a Vietnamese co-worker at that time who told her that in Vietnam the dressing for this type of salad would never contain oil, and that caught my interest.
And when I turned that recipe into this Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Cabbage I fell in love with the light but highly flavored dressing that includes so many great Asian flavors like fish sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, garlic, sweetener, and Sriracha Sauce. Having good quality fish sauce makes a big difference here, and don’t be put off by the smell, fish sauce tastes amazing in small amounts.
And since I have a hard time walking by those rotisserie chickens at Costco without having one jump into my cart, I’m always looking for salad ideas to use the leftover chicken. With the light dressing, chicken, radishes, and crunchy cabbage, I think this salad is perfect for summer.
What ingredients do you need?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Sriracha Sauce (affiliate link)
- Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
- Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link), or sweetener of your choice
- Unseasoned Rice Vinegar (affiliate link)
- fresh-squeezed lime juice, I used my fresh-frozen lime juice
- fish sauce, preferably Red Boat Fish Sauce (affiliate link)
- salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- diced cooked chicken
- small red onion
- chopped green cabbage
- sliced radishes
- chopped cilantro
What kind of fish sauce did I use for the Vietnamese Chicken Salad?
I’m a huge fan of Red Boat Fish Sauce, which has zero carbs and is gluten-free, and Red Boat contains only fresh caught wild black anchovies and sea salt. But if you don’t find that premium fish sauce where you shop, you can’t go wrong with Three Crabs Fish Sauce, which I learned about from Lydia’s post on fish sauce. Read that if you’ve never cooked with fish sauce before.
Can you make Vietnamese Chicken Salad without raw onion?
You can definitely use green onion in this chicken and cabbage salad to replace the red onion if you prefer. But one technique that tames down the onion a bit is to add the sliced onion to the chicken when it’s marinating, so you might want to try that if you’re not a big raw onion fan.
Why is Vietnamese Chicken Salad salad good for Weekend Food Prep?
This is a great salad idea for Weekend Food Prep! One thing I’m trying to do at my house is have salad fixings in the fridge so I’m ready for lunch, and everything about this salad (except maybe the chopped cilantro) could be prepped ahead and then tossed together when you’re ready to eat. This easy salad with Vietnamese flavors is really a keeper; hope everyone will like it!
Want more Cabbage Salad Ideas?
If you’re a big cabbage fan, check out Low-Carb and Keto Cabbage Salads to see lots more of my favorite salads with cabbage.
How to Make Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Cabbage:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.
- Whisk together Sriracha Sauce, garlic, Monkfruit Sweetener or sweetener of your choice, unseasoned rice vinegar, fresh-squeezed lime juice, fish sauce, and salt and pepper to taste to make the dressing.
- Dice up about 5 cups of cooked chicken; I use rotisserie chicken breast from Costco for the chicken, but you can poach some chicken breasts too.
- The chicken gets marinated in about half the dressing, which infuses the chicken with flavor. (You can also add the onions to this if you want to tame down the onion flavor a bit.)
- Chop up enough cabbage to make about 5 cups chopped cabbage.
- Finely chop cilantro, slice the radishes into half-moon slices, and cut red onion into slivers.
- Toss the salad together with the desired amount of dressing and devour!
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
I’d probably eat this Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Cabbage as a main-dish salad, especially if I was having it for lunch. But if you wanted to make it a more substantial meal you could also serve with something like Sugar Snap Pea Salad, Thai Cucumber Salad, Grilled Spicy Eggplant, or Laurel’s Jicama Salad.
More Asian Cabbage Salads to Keep You Cool:
Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Cabbage
Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Cabbage is perfect to use up leftover chicken, and the dressing has no oil! This tasty salad is loaded with the vibrant flavors that make Asian food so fun!
Ingredients
Dressing Ingredients:
- 1 tsp. Sriracha Sauce (or more, to taste)
- 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
- 3 T Monkfruit sweetener, or sweetener of your choice
- 3 T unseasoned rice vinegar (not sweetened)
- 3 T fresh lime juice (see notes)
- 3 T fish sauce (see notes)
- salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Salad Ingredients:
- 5 cups diced cooked chicken
- 1/2 small red onion, sliced into slivers
- 5 cups chopped green cabbage
- 1 cup sliced radishes
- 1/2 chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Whisk together the Sriracha Sauce, garlic, Monkfruit Sweetener or other sweetener, unseasoned rice vinegar, fresh lime juice, and fish sauce to make the dressing. (Fish sauce can vary in strength, and if you’re not used to it I recommend starting with less and adding it until the dressing tastes good to you.
- Taste dressing to see if you want a bit more Sriracha Sauce. Season dressing with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
- Dice the chicken to make 5 cups chopped bite-sized chicken pieces. Then put diced chicken plastic bowl and mix with about half the dressing. (You can also add the red onions to marinate with the chicken if you want to tame them down a bit.)
- Let marinate 15 minutes or longer while you chop the cabbage and cilantro and slice the radishes.
- When ready to serve, add the cabbage, radishes, and cilantro to the chicken/dressing mixture and toss, adding more dressing until the salad is as moist as you’d like it. (You may not need to use all the dressing.)
- Serve immediately.
- This dressing will keep in the fridge for at least a week. If you won't eat this much salad at one time, chop all ingredients except cilantro, mix the dressing, and keep in the fridge. When you're ready to eat, marinate chicken a few minutes while you chop cilantro, them combine and eat!
Notes
Use Sriracha Sauce (affiliate link), or other hot sauce of your choice for this recipe.
I would use Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link). I use my fresh-frozen lime juice for this. Use Red Boat Fish Sauce (affiliate link)Â for gluten-free.
Recipe originally from Nigella Lawson, adapted by A Fridge Full of Food, with a more adaptations by Kalyn.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 293Total Fat 15gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 106mgSodium 925mgCarbohydrates 10gFiber 3gSugar 5gProtein 29g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
As long as it’s made with an approved sweetener, this Vietnamese Chicken Salad would be perfect for low-carb or Keto diets or for any phase of the original South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
My first variation of this salad was posted in 2007, when my friend Glenna posted Vietnamese Cole Slaw (a recipe that’s no longer online.) Through the years I made this regularly and changed the recipe slightly several times, but I always kept the oil-free Vietnamese dressing. The recipe for Vietnamese Chicken Salad was last updated with new photos and more information in 2022.
29 Comments on “Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Cabbage”
So glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe.
Made this today for lunch but used coleslaw mix and added a bit more vinegar and fish sauce. Very tasty. Thank you.
So glad you enjoyed! And what a good idea to use coleslaw mix.
Delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe. It has an excellent flavor.
So glad you liked it! I need to put that on my menu again soon!
Glad you like it!
I love the idea to use your left over rotisserie chicken and the dressing sounds awesome 🙂
John, so glad you enjoyed it. I love the sound of fried shallots; will definitely look for them!
We love to order this salad when we go out for Vietnamese food, and now we can make it at home! Delicious recipe & flavors, agree with the idea of adding mint since this is how our Vietnamese restaurant makes it; they also sprinkle fried shallots on top which you can find at the asian market (if you have one). Note if you use a rotisserie chicken and bagged chopped cabbage will make a double recipe. This will be a new "regular" at our house!
Calissa, that sounds good to me!
Delicious salad! I think next time I'm going to add some slivered almonds!
I'm so glad you highlighted the fish sauce here! People often get anxious about the idea (or the smell), but it does wonders for dressings, and you would never know it's in most of them. Gorgeous, healthy salad, Kalyn – I'm loving all these great salad ideas!
Looks beautiful and tasty!
Thanks Pam; really love this salad!
What a great combination of flavors & textures. It looks like a terrific salad.
Lisa Jean, thanks for letting me know you liked it. I have a feeling I’ll be making this a lot this summer too, and with mint and basil from my garden when I get some!
I made this salad for dinner last night and loved it. So springtime. I will be making it a lot this summer. Thanks!
What wonderful colors this salad has…its very exciting in appearance!
MW, I love the idea of adding mint and basil. In the summer when I have them in my garden, this is a must!
Kalyn, I see fish sauce and lime juice in your Vietnamese salad, that’s 2 thumbs up !! 🙂 Hey, you really gotta try adding chopped vietnamese mint leaves, basils to that too, that would be really authentic 🙂
Kitarra, thanks. I did love it.
Chigiy, love to hear what your friend says.
Anh, so glad to hear that it’s at least somewhat authentic. It seemed like a perfect lunch salad when I saw it on Glenna’s blog. Now I know I’ll make it over and over.
Kalyn, this salad captures very much the spirit of the traditional chicken salad eaten in Vietnam. I really love it, so yummy and healthy. And you are absolutely right about not using oil the salad dressing =)
Well, you know I love color, so I’m sure I will love this salad. I sending this to my Vietnamese friend too.
WOW! I love the idea and the colors. Just a gorgeous combination!
Tanna, looks like this recipe has a lot of incarnations.
Pille, me too. Plus, eating things like this makes me think of spring!
Anna I love it. If we subbed the sesame oil that would be an adaptation of an adaptation of an adaptation! Very funny!
I tried this salad back when Orangette posted it in November, and it was delicious! If you don’t have any fish sauce (or want to make it vegetarian), you could try a bit of toasted sesame oil. Totally different flavor, but still tasty.
Looks colourful and tasty! As well as healthy, of course:) I am consciously trying to eat lots of fresh vegetables, as there are lots of flu bugs around at the moment. Anything vitamin-rich is good:)
An adaptation of an adaptation? At what point in time does it become your own! 🙂 I guess I’d rather see credit given than not.
Looks like a lovely salad with without cutting the onion in rings and more green than red cabbage. I’d love a bowl.