This fresh and noodly Vietnamese Chicken Salad is packed with lean protein, cooked rice noodles, and colorful, crunchy veggies. Super easy to make, it’s light, fresh, and delicious and perfect for lunch or dinner.
This crunchy, noodly Vietnamese chicken salad is so GOOD! Like, probably one of my top 5 favorite salads on this website. I would definitely make it if I were you.
Anyway, it’s filled with simple (yet flavorful!) ingredients such as rice noodles, shredded chicken, and fresh veggies like carrots, bell peppers, and crispy chopped cabbage. The homemade dressing – made with spicy peppers, salty fish sauce (smells terrible, but tastes so delicious), lime juice, and sugar – takes just 5 minutes to blend together. The best and most important part of this salad, however, is the addition of fresh chopped cilantro, green onions, and fresh lime juice tossed in just before serving.
Filling, flavorful, and so delicious, the whole family will love this yummy salad.
How to Make Vietnamese Chicken Salad
- Begin by adding the Serrano peppers, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, brown sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, and olive oil to a blender or food processor. Pulse until the dressing is smooth.
- Then, place a large pot of water over high heat and bring it to a rolling boil. Gently add the chicken breasts, cover the pot, and remove it from heat. Allow the chicken to poach for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Carefully remove the chicken from the pot, and allow it to cool on a plate before shredding it with a fork (or your fingers).
- Pour a small amount of dressing onto the chicken and toss. Transfer the chicken to an airtight container and place it in the fridge for now.
- Next, soak the rice noodles in a large bowl or pot of hot (but not boiling) water. Let the noodles soak until they soften, but not so long that they become soggy. Drain the noodles and rinse them with cold water.
- Add a small amount of the dressing to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the drained noodles and stir fry for 3-4 minutes, mixing every 30 seconds. Then, add the prepared vegetables and more dressing to taste. Cook on medium-low for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Toss in the shredded chicken and mix.
- Remove the salad from heat and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro, green onion, and mint.
How to Serve
Serve this Vietnamese chicken salad on its own or with a side, like soup, spring rolls, or egg rolls. It’s delicious the same day or meal-prepped for the rest of the week. You can even make additional dressing (or re-make the dressing separately) and try it on other salads and stir-fries.
Storage and Freezing
Transfer leftover salad to an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. I find that leftovers are best served cold, but a little gentle reheating on the stovetop is also ok. Freezing is not recommended.
More Chicken Salad Recipes:
- Chicken Salad
- Chinese Chicken Salad
- Loaded Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad
- Curried Chicken Salad
- Chicken Potato Salad
If you try making this Vietnamese Chicken Salad Recipe, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to hear your thoughts.
RECIPE CARD
Vietnamese Chicken Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 3 serrano peppers - I used 4 and it was SPICY! I loved it, but if you are not a fan of spicy food, definitely use less
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 inch piece of ginger - peeled and chopped
- 3 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 4 tablespoon brown sugar
- ⅓ cup fish sauce
- ½ cup fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
For the Salad:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 6 ounces rice noodles
- 5 large carrots - julienned or grated
- 1 medium head napa cabbage - shredded
- 1 large bunch cilantro - chopped
- 1 cup green onion - chopped
- 1 red bell pepper - seeded and diced
Instructions
- For the dressing- place all ingredients in the bowl of a high powered blender or food processor and pulse until smooth.
- For the chicken-bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. When the water reaches a rolling boil, gently add chicken breasts, cover pot with a fitted lid and remove from heat. Allow chicken to cook for approximately 30 minutes. Carefully remove chicken from the pot to a plate and allow it to cool before shredding with a fork (or fingers).
- Pour a small amount of dressing onto the shredded chicken and gently mix. Store chicken in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- For the noodles-soak the rice noodles in a large bowl or pot of hot water (not boiling). Allow noodles to soak until softened BUT NOT SOGGY. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water.
- In a large skillet heat a small amount of the dressing. Add drained rice noodles and stir-fry over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, mixing every 30 seconds or so. I also used kitchen scissors to cut through the noodles (making this a much easier salad to prepare and eat).
- Add prepared vegetables and remaining dressing (to taste) to the noodles and mix well. Cook over medium low heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally, toss in the shredded chicken, mix and remove from heat.
- Garnish with additional fresh chopped cilantro, green onion and mint.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
Beatrice says
This salad was a ton of work, so if I make it again – it will be with as many pre-chopped vegetables as possible to cut down on that. That being said, of all of the non-lettuce salads I’ve tried (this is #4) so far, this one has been the absolute best. It is delicious. It was a little weird at first cooking everything, but it all turned out incredible. The recipe as written yielded more for me than I thought it would and took a very large wok to do the stir fry part in. My largest frying pan wouldn’t have accommodated everything.
Melissa says
Does this store well? Wondering if I could make it on a Sunday and still be able to have it for lunch on a Thursday.
Jessica Randhawa says
Hi Melissa,
Store the rice noodles separate from the salad, as the dressing will make them soggy. When getting ready to eat on Thursday, rinse the rice noodles with water to make them unstick from each other.