Vietnamese Chicken and Mango Salad

Mains, Recipe

This Vietnamese Chicken and Mango Salad is a vibrant, refreshing bowl of colour, crunch, and nourishment.

There’s something magical about summer meals, that beautiful moment when fresh ingredients meet warm evenings, light breezes, and the simple joy of eating something that makes your whole body feel good. This Vietnamese Chicken & Mango Summer Salad captures that feeling perfectly. It’s crisp, fragrant, juicy, and wonderfully hydrating… everything you want when the days are hot and you’re craving something satisfying but light.

Tender chicken thighs bring a lovely richness, the mango adds a naturally sweet, sunshine-filled brightness, and the fresh herbs lift the whole dish with their cooling, vibrant flavours. It’s a bowl that feels refreshing, energising, and deeply nourishing all while giving you a balanced 30–40g of protein per serve to support your hormones, muscle recovery, and steady energy.

If you’re looking for an easy weeknight meal, a fresh summery lunch, or something impressive for relaxed entertaining, this salad ticks every box.

Nutritional Benefits

Chicken Thigh provides beautiful high-quality protein that helps support muscle repair, stable energy, and healthy hormones. The natural juiciness of the thigh meat makes it perfect for salads, keeping each bite tender and satisfying. A serve of this salad offers around 36–38g of protein — ideal for staying energised throughout the day.
Mango brings a burst of natural colour and sweetness, along with vitamin C, antioxidants, and digestive enzymes that help your body break down food more efficiently. It’s also wonderfully hydrating and adds gentle fibre to support gut health and balanced blood sugar.
Fresh Herbs like mint, basil, and coriander aren’t just aromatic toppings they’re packed with antioxidants and plant compounds that promote digestion and calm inflammation. Paired with fibrous vegetables like wombok, cabbage, carrot, and cucumber, you get a refreshing, gut-nourishing blend that supports overall wellbeing.

Ingredients

Serves: 3

For the chicken:

750g chicken thigh (boneless, skinless)
1 T olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp fish sauce or coconut aminos
Cracked pepper to taste

For the salad:

3 cups shredded wombok (Chinese cabbage)
1 1/2 cups shredded red cabbage
1 large carrot, julienned
3 Lebanese cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 small red onion or 3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 large ripe mango, sliced into matchsticks
1 1/2 cups fresh herbs (mint, coriander, basil)
1 red chilli, sliced (optional)

For the dressing:

3 T fresh lime juice
1 1/2 T coconut aminos
1 1/2 T fish sauce (or extra aminos)
1 1/2 tsp rice malt syrup
1 garlic clove, minced
Optional: 1/4 tsp sesame oil

Optional toppings:

Roasted cashews or sunflower seeds
Extra herbs
Lime wedges

Preparation

Mix the lime juice, olive oil, garlic, ginger, fish sauce/aminos, and pepper in a bowl. Coat the chicken thighs and marinate for at least 10 minutes (or longer in the fridge).

Method

Heat a large pan over medium–high heat. Cook the thighs for 6–7 minutes per side until golden and cooked through. Rest for 5 minutes, then slice.

Add the wombok, red cabbage, carrot, cucumbers, onion/shallots, mango, herbs, and chilli (if using) to a large bowl.

Whisk the lime juice, coconut aminos, fish sauce, rice malt syrup, garlic, and sesame oil together until smooth.

Place the warm sliced chicken over the vegetables and mango. Drizzle with dressing, toss gently, and finish with cashews or seeds.

Serving Suggestions

Enjoy immediately while the chicken is warm and the vegetables are crisp. For extra crunch, add toasted cashews, peanuts, or sunflower seeds.

For more heat, add an extra slice of chilli or a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.

Serve it as a main meal or as a beautiful centrepiece for a summer barbecue spread.

If you’d like a different protein option, swap chicken thigh for breast, salmon, barramundi, or tofu.

Final Thoughts

This salad celebrates everything summer cooking is meant to be colourful, light, nourishing, and full of flavour without any fuss. It’s the kind of meal that supports your wellbeing while feeling joyful and refreshing.

If you make this dish, I’d truly love to hear how you enjoyed it. Leave a comment below and share your favourite twist, extra herbs, more mango, a vegetarian version, or whatever makes it your own.

And if you’re looking for another flavourful idea, you might also enjoy my Mediterranean Chicken

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