Vietnamese Chicken Salad (Gà Trộn)
What is Gà Trộn?
Gà trộn is a Vietnamese chicken salad. Tender boiled chicken is shredded and tossed with thinly sliced red onion and lots of rau răm (Vietnamese coriander), then dressed with lime juice and a pounded mix of Thai chilies, salt and black pepper. It's bright, spicy, peppery and refreshing.
We often make this when we're boiling a farm-raised chicken for phở: the broth goes into the soup and the meat goes into this salad. We also had it at my husband's family Thanksgiving, and it makes a great appetizer or side dish to share.
Watch How to Make It
Watch this recipe on Instagram
Vietnamese Chicken Salad (Gà Trộn)
Tender shredded chicken tossed with red onion and lots of rau răm in a spicy, peppery lime dressing. A great appetizer or side dish to share.
Ingredients
- 1 whole farm-raised chicken boiled and shredded
- ½ red onion thinly sliced
- 1 bundle rau răm (Vietnamese coriander) roughly chopped
Dressing
- 1 whole lime juiced
- 8 Thai peppers
- ⅓ tablespoon salt
- ⅓ tablespoon black peppercorns
Instructions
- Boil the chicken: Place the whole chicken in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook until fully cooked through, about 40-45 minutes depending on size.
- Cool and shred: Remove the chicken and let it cool (or plunge it into an ice bath to keep the skin firm). Shred the meat into bite-size pieces. Save the broth for phở or soup.
- Make the dressing: In a mortar and pestle, pound the Thai peppers, salt and black peppercorns into a coarse paste. Stir in the lime juice.
- Prep the aromatics: Thinly slice the red onion and roughly chop the rau răm.
- Toss: In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, red onion and rau răm. Pour over the dressing and toss well. Taste and adjust with more lime or salt.
Notes
Use the broth: Boil the chicken for phở gà or another soup and use the meat for this salad, just like we do.
