This Vietnamese Potato Salad isn't a traditional dish — but it's one that is deeply entrenched in my family's history. My mom used to make this for me all the time growing up. Blanched potatoes, carrots and green beans are tossed in a tangy shallot and nước mắm (fish sauce) vinaigrette.
I first shared a video tutorial for this recipe on Instagram in 2023. A follower told me her father makes a similar potato salad, and that he learned the recipe from a Catholic priest. My family is also Catholic, and I wouldn't be surprised if the origins of this dish lie with the European missionaries or colonisers of Vietnam. The salad itself is similar to a French potato salad, which usually involves dressing warm, waxy potatoes in a vinaigrette.
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🥔 Ingredients
Choose a waxy potato, like red or Yukon Gold. Fluffy potatoes like russet, will lose their shape.
You will need
- waxy potatoes
- carrots
- green beans
- olive oil
- shallots
- fish sauce
- red wine vinegar
- sugar
- salt
- pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
🔪 Instructions
- Step 1: Boil the potatoes until they're tender and can be easily pierced with a knife. Drain and cut into halves or quarters.
- Step 2: Peel the carrots and cut them into 1-inch pieces. Boil these until they're tender. Drain.
- Step 3: Trim the green beans and cut them into 1-inch pieces. Boil these for 2-3 minutes, or until they turn bright green and are slightly tender. Drop them into ice water to prevent them from cooking further.
- Step 4: While the vegetables are cooking, sauté sliced shallots in some olive oil until they are soft but not browned.
Step 5: Turn off the heat and add the rest of the olive oil, fish sauce, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper to the shallots and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Step 6: Combine the drained vegetables and dress them with the vinaigrette while they're still warm. Let the salad stand for at least an hour — stirring occasionally — before serving.
Hint: Make sure your potatoes are warm, so that they absorb more of the vinaigrette. Boil your potatoes first and then cut them up to prevent them from becoming waterlogged. The potato skin will keep it from soaking up too much of the cooking water.
💭 Substitutions
- Fish sauce—If you cannot have fish, I recommend looking for a vegan/vegetarian fish sauce. You can use soy sauce, but it will change the flavor profile of this salad. Different brands of fish sauce have varying levels of saltiness, so you may need to adjust how much you use.
👪 Serving size suggestions and storage
Store this salad in an airtight container for up to a week. It's a great recipe for meal prepping to make a lot. Heat the salad slightly before eating to prevent the olive oil from solidifying.
✏️ Top Tip
Start with a little bit of fish sauce and adjust the amount to your taste! Fish sauce brands vary widely, and it will get saltier as it sits in your pantry. You can always add more, but you can't take away.
🔗 Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
🤝 Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Vietnamese Potato Salad:
Potato Salad with Nước Mắm Vinaigrette (Xà Lách Khoai Tây)
Ingredients
- 1 lb red or yukon gold potatoes
- 6 carrots
- ½ lb green beans
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes until they're tender and can be easily pierced with a knife. Drain and cut into halves or quarters.
- Peel the carrots and cut them into 1-inch pieces. Boil these until they're tender. Drain.
- Trim the green beans and cut them into 1-inch pieces. Boil these for 2-3 minutes, or until they turn bright green and are slightly tender.
- While the vegetables are cooking, slice the shallots thinly. Sauté them with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil on medium heat until they are soft but not browned.
- Turn off the heat and add the rest of the olive oil, fish sauce, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper to the shallots and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
- Combine the drained vegetables and dress them with the vinaigrette while they're still warm. Let the salad stand for at least an hour — stirring occasionally — before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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