• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Bun Bo Bae

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Life
    • Travel
    • Reviews
  • Contact
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Life
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Chicken » Vietnamese Chicken Salad (Gà Bóp)

    Vietnamese Chicken Salad (Gà Bóp)

    Published: Aug 12, 2020 Modified: Aug 12, 2020 by Suzanne Nuyen This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads

    Tweet
    Share
    Pin98
    Share13
    111 Shares
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Chopsticks holding up shredded chicken salad
    Shredded chicken salad and yellow sticky rice in a white bowl
    Two images of shredded chicken salad with yellow sticky rice on top of one another

    Growing up, gà bóp was on regular rotation in our household. It's a dish from Huế, a region in central Vietnam, where the maternal side of my family is originally from. My mom learned to make it from my grandma, and whenever we sat down to eat this dish, she'd reminisce about how my grandma used to make it with extra onions, because they were her favorite.

    Pin Vietnamese Chicken Salad (Gà Bóp) To Try Later!

    chopsticks holding up shredded chicken salad from a white saucer

    This chicken salad is made with hand shredded poached chicken. Gà means chicken, and bóp means "to squeeze," so if you're going to make this dish, you'll want to get your hands in there to really mix things up! The dressing is super simple: lime, salt and pepper. Sweet onion gives the salad flavor without the usual bite that onion brings. The star of the show, however, is rau răm, or Vietnamese coriander. The bright, slightly peppery herb is essential to the flavor of the dish, and I'm sorry to say that there isn't a proper substitution for it. You are free to use other herbs, but you won't be making an authentic gà bóp.

    A bowl of shredded chicken salad with yellow sticky rice

    Jump to:
    • 🍗 Ingredients
    • 🔪 Instructions
    • 💭 Tips and substitutions
    • 🍚 Serving suggestions
    • 🥡 How to store or make in advance
    • 👪 Serving size
    • 📋 Recipe

    🍗 Ingredients

    A whole raw chicken in a stainless steel bowl next to herbs, an onion, a shallot and a lime

    You will need:

    • 1 whole chicken (about 3-5 lbs)
    • 1 shallot
    • 1 sweet onion, sliced into half moons (about 3 cups or 290g)
    • the juice of 2 limes (about ½ cup or 150 ml)
    • 1 bunch of rau răm (Vietnamese coriander), chopped (about 2 cups or 60g)
    • salt and pepper to taste

    🔪 Instructions

    A whole chicken in a stainless steel pot of water with two shallots

    Bring a pot of water to boil. Add your whole chicken and one peeled shallot to the water and cook at a rolling boil until chicken is cooked. The chicken is cooked when its internal temp taken in the thickest part of the thigh is 165 degrees. This takes about 30-45 minutes.

    Take the chicken out and let it rest at least 30 minutes or until it it cool enough be handled with your hands.

    thinly sliced onions sprinkled with black pepper in a bowl

    While the chicken is cooking and resting, chop your onion up. Season the onions with salt and pepper and pour the lime juice over them. Give the onions a mix and set aside.

    When the chicken is cooled, shred it by hand.

    shredded chicken, vietnamese coriander and thin sliced onions in a stainless steel bowl

    Add the onions (but not the lime juice) to the chicken along with the rau răm. Mix the ingredients together with your hands until well incorporated.

    Taste the salad and add more salt and pepper or the reserved lime juice as necessary. I ended up adding all of my lime juice. Make sure you don't skimp on the black pepper.

    💭 Tips and substitutions

    In my opinion, there is no real substitute for the lemony, peppery fragrance of rau răm. You can find this herb at most Asian grocery stores. It might be labeled "Vietnamese coriandor," "Vietnamese mint" or "pacpeo herb." If you can't find it anywhere and really want to make this dish, you could try Thai basil, but it won't have quite the same flavor. You'll be making a different, but still delicious dish.

    If you don't want to use an entire chicken, you can buy chicken legs or breasts and poach those instead. Adding the shallot makes the chicken more fragrant, so don't forget it. Poaching chicken legs or breasts will not take as long as a whole chicken, so adjust the cooking time as necessary. I like using a whole chicken to get both white and dark meat.

    You could also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, but I like having the skin in my salad. Skinless breasts may turn out a little dry, but it isn't likely since it is poached. I love this method of cooking chicken for moist, succulent meat. For another recipe that uses poached chicken, try these sesame noodles with chicken and crunchy vegetables.

    Sweet onion gives the salad onion flavor without the bite. I would not recommend using yellow onion unless you love onions. Red onions would be an appropriate substitute.

    🍚 Serving suggestions

    Shredded Vietnamese Chicken Salad in a white bowl with yellow sticky rice

    Gà bóp is typically served with congee. Use the chicken broth left over from poaching the chicken to make the congee by adding some rice to it and cooking until the mixture has thickened to a porridge consistency. Season with salt, pepper and fish sauce to taste.

    The salad also tastes great with rice or sticky rice. Once again, take advantage of the chicken broth you've made and use it to cook your rice. Add a pinch of turmeric for color and salt for flavor. I have served my Vietnamese chicken salad with sticky rice in these photos.

    🥡 How to store or make in advance

    shredded chicken in a stainless steel bowl

    You can make this entire dish one day before serving. The dish actually gets better with time if you let the flavors develop in the fridge overnight.

    If you need to make the dish further in advance, poach and shred the chicken first. You can keep frozen, shredded chicken in the freezer for 6 months or 4 days in the fridge. When you are ready to eat, the onions and herb with the defrosted chicken.

    👪 Serving size

    A four pound chicken typically serves five to seven people. If you need to scale the recipe down, buy individual chicken parts, like legs or breasts, and poach those separately. Cornish hens will also work in this recipe and yield a smaller amount of chicken. You can also freeze half of the shredded chicken for about 6 months and use it in other recipes.

    📋 Recipe

    Chopsticks holding up shredded Vietnamese Chicken Salad (Gà Bóp)
    Print Pin
    5 from 1 vote

    Vietnamese Chicken Salad (Gà Bóp)

    This simple Vietnamese chicken salad is bright and summery thanks to plenty of lime juice and chopped Vietnamese coriander.
    Course Main Course, Salad
    Cuisine Asian, Vietnamese
    Keyword Chicken
    Prep Time 45 minutes
    Cook Time 30 minutes
    Resting time 30 minutes
    Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
    Calories 397kcal

    Ingredients

    • 1 whole chicken (about 3-5 lbs)
    • 2 limes juiced about ½ cup
    • 1 bunch rau răm, or Vietnamese coriander/mint (about 2 cups or 60g)
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • 1 sweet onion, sliced into half moons (about 3 cups or 290g)

    Instructions

    • Bring a pot of water to boil. Add your whole chicken and one peeled shallot to the water and cook at a rolling boil until chicken is cooked to 165°
    • Take the chicken out and let it rest at least 30 minutes or until it it cool enough be handled with your hands.
    • While the chicken is cooking and resting, slice your onion up. Season the onions with salt and pepper and pour the lime juice over them. Give the onions a mix and set aside. Chop the Vietnamese coriander and set aside.
    • When the chicken is cooled, shred it by hand.
    • Add the onions (but not the lime juice) to the chicken along with the rau răm. Mix the ingredients together with your hands until well incorporated.
    • Taste the salad and add more salt and pepper or the reserved lime juice as necessary. Serve with rice or congee.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 397kcal | Carbohydrates: 8.9g | Protein: 53.4g | Fat: 16.1g | Saturated Fat: 5.7g | Cholesterol: 205.7mg | Sodium: 505.8mg | Potassium: 113.9mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1.2g
    Nutrition Facts
    Vietnamese Chicken Salad (Gà Bóp)
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 397 Calories from Fat 145
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 16.1g25%
    Saturated Fat 5.7g36%
    Cholesterol 205.7mg69%
    Sodium 505.8mg22%
    Potassium 113.9mg3%
    Carbohydrates 8.9g3%
    Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 1.2g1%
    Protein 53.4g107%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Did you make this recipe? Please tag @BunBoBaeBlog on Instagram or leave a rating or comment on the blog!


    Don't miss a single recipe! Sign up with your email below for recipes in your inbox.


    Loved this recipe? You might also like:

    • White plate with gold trim. On the plate is a chicken thigh with brown glaze, a round mound of rice, slices of tomato with slices of cucumber layered on top of the tomato.
      Vietnamese Roasted Chicken (Gà Roti)
    • gà nấu đậu Vietnamese Chicken and Bean Stew
      Vietnamese Chicken and Bean Stew (Gà Nấu Đậu)
    • Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Cà Ri Gà)
      Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Cà Ri Gà)
    • Sesame noodles
      Sesame Noodles With Chicken and Crunchy Vegetables
    Tweet
    Share
    Pin98
    Share13
    111 Shares

    More Chicken

    • A square crop of a blue plate with a poached chicken breast, rice, scallion ginger oil, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and rice
      Hainanese Chicken Rice (Cơm Gà Hải Nam)
    • a birdseye view of a blue plate filled with taiwanese popcorn chicken and fried basil leaves
      Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken (Gà Chiên Lá Quế Đài Loan)
    • A fork digs into a plate of penne alla vodka
      Penne Alla Vodka With Crispy Chicken
    • Birds eye view of bowl of noodle soup with chicken, scallion, cilantro and fried shallots
      Vietnamese Chicken And Glass Noodle Soup (Miến Gà)

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jade

      March 03, 2022 at 5:40 am

      This actually tastes exactly like my grandmother's.

      One day, I was out of rau ram, so I decided to use regular cilantro. Not quite the same since it's not that beautiful citrus, peppery flavor, but it definitely hit the spot. Makes a decent alternative for when I'm out.

      Reply
      • Suzanne Nuyen

        May 09, 2022 at 2:31 am

        I'm so glad to hear this! I definitely think the rau ram is essential. There's really no taste like it! I'm glad cilantro still makes it tasty.

        Reply
    2. Anonymous

      February 10, 2021 at 9:39 am

      What the heck is “Gà Bóp”? It’s looking more like “Gỏi Gà” to me...😋😋

      Reply
      • Suzanne Nuyen

        February 10, 2021 at 10:58 am

        Hi anon! You're probably not from the Hue region of Vietnam, are you? Gà Bóp is what we call it there, and it only has onions, lime juice and rau ram. Gỏi Gà is a different dish that might have a fish sauce based dressing and more vegetables like cabbage. Hopefully you'll love this new dish you've learned about!

        Reply
    3. Beer

      November 15, 2020 at 5:40 pm

      We add extra none super hot chillies, corriander and thai basil. But also finely sliced red/white cabbage...

      Reply
      • Suzanne Nuyen

        November 17, 2020 at 9:08 am

        That sounds like a delicious salad!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi! I'm Suzanne, your Bun Bo Bae. I'm a journalist, professional amateur baker, noodle enthusiast and food photographer living in Washington, DC. My immigrant parents taught me everything I know about Vietnamese home cooking, and now I want to share it with you!

    More about me →

    Newest Recipes

    • A square crop of a bowl of Vietnamese Tofu Soup with Tomato and Chives (Canh hẹ Đậu Hũ Cà Chua)
      Vietnamese Tofu Soup with Tomato and Chives (Canh hẹ Đậu Hũ Cà Chua)
    • A square crop of A white plate filled with Chayote Squash and Egg Stir Fry (Su Su Xào Trứng) on a black background.
      Chayote Squash and Egg Stir Fry (Su Su Xào Trứng)
    • A teal plate filled with Vietnamese sweet potato and shrimp firtters (Vietnamese Shrimp and Sweet Potato Fritters (Bánh Tôm Chiên Khoai Lang) and herbs, with a bowl of fish sauce on the side.
      Vietnamese Shrimp and Sweet Potato Fritters (Bánh Tôm Chiên Khoai Lang)
    • Vietnamese braised shrimp, or Tôm Kho Tàu, on a blue plate on top of a black slate background
      Vietnamese Braised Shrimp In Roe (Tôm Kho Tàu)

    Sign up for my newsletter here!

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility
    • Contact
    • Media Kit

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    As Seen On

    Copyright © 2019 - 2020 Bun Bo Bae

    Copyright © 2023 Bun Bo Bae on the Foodie Pro Theme