Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken Salad
A refreshing, grain-free take on a Vietnamese classic. Loaded with fresh vegetables and grilled lemongrass chicken, this salad is bursting with authentic Vietnamese flavors.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
Lemongrass Chicken- Marinate Overnight
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 3-inch lemongrass stalk cut in thirds and sliced
- 1 shallot thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Nuoc Cham- Vietnamese Dressing/Sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons warm water
- 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice approximately 2 ½ -3 limes
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
Salad Base-
- 1 head romaine lettuce chopped
- 1 large carrot julienned
- 2 tablespoons cilantro minced
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 2 English cucumbers spiralized
- ¼ cup peanuts chopped
Instructions
Chicken Marinade
- In a gallon size resealable bag, combined the chicken marinade ingredients (lemongrass, shallot, garlic, fish sauce, coconut aminos, avocado oil, sesame oil, honey, and black pepper). Seal the bag, shake well to combined ingredients, then add the chicken. Reseal it (removing as much air as possible), shake the bag to coat all the chicken thighs in the marinade. Marinade for at least 2 hours or as long as overnight (the longer the better! I marinate my overnight). Flip the bag over once half way through marinating time.
Nuoc Cham (Dressing)
- In a small bowl, combined honey and warm water. Stir until the honey has been incorporated fully. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Set aside.
Cooking the Chicken
- Heat a grill pan on medium heat. Once heated evenly, add chicken thighs ensuring you leave the shallots and lemon grass behind in the marinade (discard marinade) and cook 5 minutes on each side, until browned and cooked through. Remove chicken from grill pan and set aside.
Assembling the bowls-
- Distribute the spiralized cucumber, romaine lettuce, bean sprouts, carrots, cilantro, and peanuts into individual bowls. Slice the chicken and add it to each bowl. Serve it with the nuoc cham dressing.