Vietnamese Cabbage Salad (Goi Chay)
A crunchy, quick to make and refreshing salad with so many flavors! You can top it with baked tofu, shrimp or chicken. It can be made in advance and eaten for days! It's THAT good.
Ingredients
For The Salad
- 4 big carrots, julienned or grated
- ⅕ green cabbage, thinly sliced/shredded
- 1 small red onion, finely sliced
- 1 pack extra firm non-GMO/organic tofu, baked
- 1 bunch scallion, sliced
- ⅓ cup fresh mint, finely sliced (don't skip it)
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, finely sliced
- ¼ cup unsalted peanuts, crushed
For The Dressing
- 4 TBSP nuoc nam (Vietnamese fish sauce) Essential! Can be substituted for soy sauce
- 4 TBSP rice vinegar
- 2 TBSP maple syrup (or coconut sugar)
- 2 limes juice
- 1 TBSP sesame oil
- 1 pimiento, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 inch fresh ginger root, grated
- 8 TBSP sunflower oil (or other neutral oil)
Instructions
- Prepare the carrots, cabbage, red onion, scallions, mint, cilantro and peanuts (reserve in separate bowls if preparing ahead of time for the week to keep the flavors apart until you assemble before serving)
- Prepare the salad dressing in a mason jar, combining all ingredients
- Combine all vegetables, herbs and peanuts in a bowl and add the baked tofu (or other protein)
- Add the dressing (amount to your liking) to the salad bowl and mix well.
Notes
Make sure to include all the fresh herbs for incredible freshness. The ingredients are simple but the salad dressing and the herbs give it such flavor and depth!