I am thoroughly, utterly exhausted. The past two weeks of vacation were nonstop go-go-go, and though it was all fun and time well-spent, we are, to say the least, spent. Phong and I flew back to Hawaii Sunday night, landed around 10pm, and then proceeded to wake up early the next morning to go to work. Talk about milking your vacation time for all it’s worth! And now that I’m battling a cold, I’m not quite feeling myself and apologize for not having posted in awhile.
Growing up, whenever my mom would make some kind of chicken soup, like pho or something hot and steamy to clear my nasal passages, she would take the whole chicken that she poached in water, shred it up while still hot, and make a side salad for us to eat as an appetizer before the soup. And because I have been feeling quite nasal-y and want some soup, I did the same thing last night and saved some shredded chicken for today’s lunch.
This salad is simple to make and takes only a few minutes to toss altogether. Bonus – there’s no added fat in it. Use chicken that is hot from poaching or reheat already cooked chicken in the microwave. You can also use rotisserie chicken if you like – just throw out the skin and extra fat. Traditionally, my mom and aunts make this with rau ram leaves, a Vietnamese coriander found in Asian grocery stores. It imparts a great herb-y flavor, but if you can’t find it, substitute with 1/2 mint and 1/2 basil instead.
Mom’s Chicken Salad (Thit Ga Bop)
serves about 4
3 cups hot shredded, cooked chicken (poached is preferred, and discard extra fat or skin)
1/4 cup lime juice (or 1 1/2 limes)
1/2 cup thinly sliced yellow onion
1/2 cup packed rau ram leaves (or 1/4 cup torn mint + 1/4 cup torn basil leaves)
1 tsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1. Very easy. In a medium bowl, toss all ingredients together. Adjust seasonings to your taste. 
Nutrition Facts per serving (serves 4; approx 3/4 cup chicken salad per serving): 176 calories, 3.6 grams fat, 2.75 grams carbohydrates, 31 grams protein
Hang in there with the busyness!!
Hope you had a wonderful vacation! I just returned from one as well & agree that it’s tiring!
Yum how funny I did chicken goi on Mon nt =)
What a wonderfully fresh chicken salad – not slathered in mayo! I’ve been looking for rau ram (after another Hawai’ian blogger, Sapuche at The World Tastes Good, suggested it) but I never can find the words ‘rau ram’ anywhere on the labels. So thank you for the substitution!
This looks great, and I’ll definitely be giving it a try soon. When I lived on the mainland, it was often hard to find rau ram, but in Hawaii many Vietnamese ingredients are readily available, which is so nice! Thanks for sharing this, and I hope you kick that cold soon. Chuc suc khoe nhe!
Even though I’m vegetarian, this looks good enough to eat…except for the chicken.
peace,
mike
livelife365
Hi there-just found you. I have a healthy family food blog also so come on by. I also love that you do not have the typical high fat, low nutritional value items in your salad.
Simple yet so yummie!! It is all about good eh excellent ingredients!!