How to Make Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Green Mangosteen

Steam the Chicken

Rub the chicken with coarse salt and ginger-infused wine, rinse thoroughly, then steam or boil it.

Add 2-3 smashed lemongrass stalks and ginger to the steamer to infuse the chicken with flavor. Once the water boils, place the chicken in the steamer, reduce the heat to a simmer.

Once cooled, tear the chicken into bite-sized pieces, but avoid shredding it too finely to maintain texture in the salad.

If you have pieces with skin intact, cut them into attractive slices, similar to what you’d use for serving with noodles or pho.

Peel the Green Mangosteen

Before peeling the mangosteen, prepare a bowl of water, add 1 tablespoon of salt, and juice from 1 lemon. This water will be used to soak the mangosteen after peeling to remove the sap and prevent browning.

Green mangosteen produces a lot of sap, so you’ll need plenty of water to wash it off your hands and knife. The simplest method is to peel the mangosteen under running water, which will wash away the sap.

Although the rind is thick, be careful not to cut too deep to avoid damaging the flesh. Use a smaller knife to remove any remaining skin in the crevices. Once peeled, the white, clean mangosteen flesh is revealed—place it in the prepared lemon-salt water to keep it from browning.

Another quick method for peeling green mangosteen is to cut the fruit in half after removing the outer rind. Then, gently peel away the remaining skin from the flesh.

Continue peeling the rest of the mangosteen. For 1.8kg of green mangosteen, you’ll get about 500g of flesh.

After peeling, clean any remaining skin in the crevices and rinse the mangosteen with water.

To keep the mangosteen crisp, prepare a bowl of water with sugar and half a lemon, stir well, add ice, and soak the mangosteen. The ice water with sugar and lemon will keep the mangosteen crunchy, refreshing, and white.

Prepare Other Ingredients

Peel and julienne the carrots. Soak and rinse the cucumber in salt water, then julienne like the carrots, discarding the seeds. If the cucumber is dense, slice it into bite-sized pieces.

Thinly slice the onions. If you find the raw onion flavor too strong, soak the slices in ice water with a bit of vinegar, then rinse and drain.

Shred the purple cabbage into thin strips.

Remove the seeds from the large chili pepper, and slice into thin strips. This adds both mild heat and vibrant color to the salad.

Thinly slice the shallots. When making chicken or duck salad, Cookbeo always adds some shallots for their crunchy texture and sweet, fragrant taste.

Wash the herbs thoroughly and roughly chop them. Slice the lime leaves into thin strips.

Once the mangosteen has drained, cut it into thin, round slices. Green mangosteen is crisp and mildly sweet. Its seeds are not bitter, so there's no need to remove them.

For the accompanying toppings, toast the peanuts over low heat until golden, let them cool, then rub off the skins and roughly crush them.

Peel and thinly slice the shallots, then fry them until golden. You can refer to the method for making fried shallots here.

Fry the prawn crackers until crispy and drain. You can use an air fryer to make them crispier and less oily.

Make the Salad Dressing

Add 1/2 teaspoon of coarse salt to a mortar and grind it finely. Mince 1-2 cloves of garlic and a hot chili pepper, then add them to the mortar and continue grinding.

Add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and 3-3.5 tablespoons of sugar. You can adjust the sugar to your taste, but since mangosteen is already sweet, you won't need as much sugar as in other salad dressings.

Next, add 4 tablespoons of vinegar and squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon. Stir the mixture well.

Assemble the Chicken Salad with Mangosteen

Add the chicken to a large bowl. Then add the sliced chili, shallots, and lime leaves.

Add 1 tablespoon of the salad dressing and toss the chicken to evenly coat it. Let it marinate for about 2 minutes.

Next, add the carrots, purple cabbage, cucumber, and onions. Toss well, then add 2/3 of the salad dressing. Gently toss the ingredients to combine, then drain any excess liquid.

Add the mangosteen slices, 2/3 of the herbs, and the rest of the salad dressing. Toss gently, then drain any excess liquid.

Now add the remaining herbs, 2/3 of the toasted peanuts, and half of the fried shallots. Toss well and get ready to plate the salad.

Finally, sprinkle the salad with more toasted peanuts, fried shallots, and sesame seeds if available. Serve with crispy prawn crackers.

This chicken and mangosteen salad has a perfect balance of flavors—tangy, spicy, salty, and sweet. The crunchy, sweet mangosteen, combined with the creamy peanuts, fragrant fried shallots, and fresh herbs, make this dish a true delight.

It's easy to see why this dish receives so much praise. Though it requires time, effort, and can be expensive, the end result is an irresistibly delicious salad.