This Vietnamese Shrimp salad (Goi Tom) has an amazing sweet & spicy chili dressing that you will want to use over and over again. It’s got all the notes everyone craves – sweet, spicy, salty, tangy, umami – that is so perfect with shrimp, pork, chicken or tofu. The dish is light, healthy, refreshing, and quick to prepare – but this is not a wimpy salad from the local store – there is so much flavor in this plate, by just following some simple rules.
The key to a tasty Goi Tom is to marinate the protein with the dressing for at least 1 hour before cooking. For added flavor, add chopped fresh mint, cilantro and/or Thai basil to the salad.
For us, we are fortunate enough to have a local organic produce service – Green Door Organics. We had some beautiful bok choy, multi-colored carrots, and broccoli that we used for this version. Feel free to substitute in your veggies of choice. But fresh is key. Serve with either rice or rice vermicelli, and maybe garnish with some cucumber and chopped peanuts. Easy. Delicious!
Vietnamese Shrimp Salad with Sweet & Spicy Chile Dressing
Ingredients
Dressing/Marinade
- 1 jar Serious Foodie Vietnamese Sweet Chili Hot Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Serious Foodie Indonesian Sambal
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup neutral vegetable oil safflower, sunflower, or avocado oil are the best for this.
Salad
- 12-16 jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1-2 medium carrots peeled, and julienned or sliced on the bias
- 1 medium red wine vinegar small green cabbage, or Napa cabbage, will also work.
- 1 cup broccoli flowerettes We like raw, but some people need their broccoli cooked a bit. That's OK
- 1 cup salad greens
- 1/4 cup bok choy
- 1/4 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
- 2 green scallions sliced on the bias
- 2 cups cooked rice or rice noodles Optional
Instructions
Dressing/Marinade
- Combine 1 jar Serious Foodie Vietnamese Sweet Chili Hot Sauce, 2 tablespoons Serious Foodie Indonesian Sambal (less or more, depending on how spicy you want the dressing), and the fresh lime juice. Whisk in the vegetable oil. The sauces have fish sauce as an ingredient, so it might be salty enough. Feel free to salt and pepper the dressing to taste.
Shrimp
- Use about 1/2 of the dressing to marinate the shrimp. Pour the dressing over the shrimp in a bowl, cover, and keep in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Grill or pan sear the shrimp with about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, until pink. Do not overcook.
Salad Preparation
- Toss the bok choy, broccoli, carrots, scallion, cilantro, mint, and Thai basil together in a large bowl. Pour about one half of the reserved dressing over the salad, and gently massage into the vegetables.
- Serve the salad, add the rice or rice noodles (if using), and top with the shrimp. Drizzle with more dressing, and peanuts.
