Vietnamese Cucumber Salad (Gỏi Dưa Leo)
What is Gỏi Dưa Leo?
Gỏi dưa leo is a light, crunchy Vietnamese cucumber salad made with shredded cucumber and carrot, sliced chả lụa (Vietnamese pork roll), and fresh mint and cilantro, all tossed in a sweet and tangy fish sauce dressing.
The key step is salting the shredded vegetables for 20 minutes, then rinsing and squeezing out the liquid. This keeps the salad crisp instead of watery. Finish it with fried shallots and crushed peanuts for crunch. It's great as a side dish or a light meal on its own.
Vietnamese Cucumber Salad (Gỏi Dưa Leo)
Ingredients
- 2 large cucumbers or 4 Persian cucumbers, seeded and shredded
- 2 medium carrots shredded
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 8 oz chả lụa (Vietnamese pork roll) thinly sliced
- ½ cup mint leaves
- ½ cup cilantro roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup Nước Mắm Chấm dressing see linked recipe
- 2 tablespoon fried shallots
- 2 tablespoon crushed roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Shred the carrots and cucumbers, discarding the cucumber seeds.
- Toss the shredded carrots and cucumber with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon sugar. Let sit for 20 minutes.
- Rinse the vegetables, then squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
- Add the sliced chả lụa, cilantro, and mint leaves.
- Add the Nước Mắm Chấm dressing and toss to combine.
- Top with fried shallots and crushed peanuts and serve.
Notes
For the dressing, use my Nước Mắm Chấm recipe.
