This Asian Shrimp Salad Recipe Is Perfect for Spring and Summer!
This Vietnamese salad is LOADED with fresh herbs and veggies. It's light and refreshing, but since it's topped with shrimp (or your choice of protein), it's hearty and satisfying enough to make a meal.
In the mood for something light with lots of fresh, seasonal veggies? The answer to that nagging “what’s for dinner” question? Try this take on a Vietnamese salad. I’ve been making this salad for 20 years, and it first published it on StyleBlueprint in 2011. I’ve tweaked it through the years, and the recipe below reflects all of my newest updates.
This recipe is extremely adaptable to whatever ingredients you may have on hand, and I encourage you to change it up and use the recipe as more of a guideline vs an exact playbook. I always combine a variety of cabbages, onions, and carrots. Sometimes, I add shiitake mushrooms, plum tomatoes, raw zucchini, and fried onions. Sometimes I add oranges, mango, or avocado. One thing that is consistent is that I always make more than needed so extras can be used the base salad for stir fry, soup, and spring rolls. This way, the initial effort of chopping — which I leave mostly to my mandolin — yields serious results all week long. I love cooking this way.
With no oil, no gluten, and no dairy, this salad meets many modern dietary restrictions and is full of all sorts of things that are good for you. Enjoy!
A quick pictorial how-to before we get to the recipe:
Looking to round out the menu? This salad pairs perfectly with a ginger-lime cocktail.
All the ingredients for this salad were delivered via the Kroger Boost program, my favorite grocery delivery service!
Asian Shrimp Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 1 whole Napa cabbage, sliced thinly, but only use the green, more leafy part
- ⅓ large head green cabbage, sliced thinly
- 1/2 large sweet onion, sliced thinly
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thinly
- 1 cucumber, cut in half, seeded, and thinly sliced on the diagonal
- 1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 handful fresh basil, chopped
- 1 handful fresh mint, chopped
- 1 cup roasted, salted peanuts, chopped/crushed
- 1 lb shrimp I use Kroger's Simple Truth™ Extra Large Cooked Tail-On Frozen Shrimp
- Freshly ground sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Avocado optional topping
- Mango optional topping
- Pineapple optional topping
- Oranges optional topping
- crispy onions optional topping
- sliced jalapeño peppers optional topping
For the Vietnamese Dressing:
- ½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 1½ tsp ginger I use the glass jar variety
- 3 tbsp shallot or one large shallot
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp jalapeño pepper minced, seeded (about 1 large pepper)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
Instructions
Prep the Salad:
- Mix or layer the first six ingredients.
- Top with cucumber, herbs, peanuts, and your choice of protein.
- Finish with dressing and sea salt. For a spicier salad, add fresh diced jalapeño peppers.
Prep the Dressing:
- Combine all ingredients and enjoy.
Nutrition
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Liza Graves
As CEO of StyleBlueprint, Liza also regularly writes for SB. Most of her writing is now found in the recipe archives as cooking is her stress relief!