Strong and authentic spicy flavors are found in this unique Asian chicken slaw recipe.

Vietnamese Spicy Cabbage

This recipe is taken from ‘Into the Vietnamese Kitchen’ by Andrea Nguyen. It is one of my favorite salads because of its clean and spicy flavors. Just like a mentaiko oroshi appetizer, a light hiyayakko or some yummy sashimi, it’s a great dish to make if you are on a diet as it is both satisfying and low in fat.

I usually don’t use recipes from cookbooks to publish (this is my first one actually), but this Vietnamese spicy cabbage and chicken salad is worth sharing with everyone.

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Plate of cabbage slaw

Spicy Vietnamese Chicken Salad

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Andrea Nguyen
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Boiling
  • Cuisine: Vietnamese
  • Diet: Low Calorie
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Description

Strong and authentic spicy flavors are found in this unique Vietnamese chicken slaw recipe.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 breasts boneless, skinless chicken
  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 1 small head cabbage, shredded
  • 1 carrot, peeled and shredded
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped

Dressing

  • 1 or 2 Thai or Serrano chilis, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 6 tablespoons rice vinegar

Instructions

  1. Fill a small saucepan half full with water, add 1 tsp salt and bring to boil.
  2. Add the chicken breasts. Bring the water back to boil, remove the pan from the heat and cover tightly. Let stand for 20 minutes.
  3. Remove the chicken from the pan and discard the water. The chicken should be firm yet still yield a bit to the touch. When cool enough to handle, shred with your fingers into thin pieces, pulling the meat along its natural grain.
  4. Put the chicken in a large bowl and let it cool to room temperature.
  5. Meanwhile, put the onion in a small bowl and add the vinegar just to cover. Set aside for 15 minutes.
  6. Drain well and add it to the bowl with the chicken, along with the cabbage, carrot and cilantro.
  7. To make the dressing, put the chili, garlic, sugar and salt together and mash using a pestle and mortar, or a small blender. Scrape the paste into a bowl and add the fish sauce and rice vinegar. Keep stirring until the sugar and salt have dissolved.
  8. Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and toss. Serve.

Notes

You can make the dressing ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 289
  • Sugar: 14.2g
  • Sodium: 1200mg
  • Fat: 4.2g
  • Saturated Fat: 0.9g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 0.9g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 27.2g
  • Fiber: 7.4g
  • Protein: 36g
  • Cholesterol: 99.3mg
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Caroline Caron Phelps

Meet The Author: Caroline Phelps

Caroline Caron-Phelps is a recipe creator, food blogger, and photographer. She showcases delicious, authentic Asian recipes, especially Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, with beautiful photography, easy-to-follow instructions, videos, and practical recipe variations. Caroline has been featured on Bon Appetit, Shape Magazine, Self, Today Show, and more.

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Questions and Reviews

  1. I love this recipe and have made it several times. When I’ve been able to find fish sauce I’ve used a combination of Worcester sauce and Tamari. But I wouldn’t do this routinely – fish sauce is best. I think this recipe over does it with the vinegar. You don’t need that much to soak the onions. Plus, I rinse the onions after soaking them or I think they stay too sharp. If you’re not on a diet and want some carbs I serve with glass noodles with roughly ground peanuts and soy.



    Reply

  3. I’d like to try this salad, but you’re instructions say to use fish sauce and it isn’t listed in your ingredient list. Please advise – how much fish sauce does it need?

    Reply

    1. Hi Judy, I’m sorry for the misprint! Thanks for letting me know, I’ve just made the changes (3 tablespoons fish sauce). This is one of my favorite salads of all time, I hope you like it as much as I do!

      Reply