Name: Vietnamese Chicken, Shrimp, and Grapefruit Salad
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 7 min
Yield: 4 people
Cuisine: Vietnam
Ingredients: 100 g ofsoybean sprouts; 100 g ofbamboo shoots (canned); 1 cucumber (large, preferably organic, since it's unpeeled); 1 onion (average); 1 chicken breast; 100 g ofgrapefruits; 50 g ofpork loin (or chest); 100 g ofraw shrimp; 3 tbsp ofsunflower oil (or grape seeds. I avoid olive oil when cooking Asian dishes.); 2 tbsp ofsesame oil; 20 leaves ofmint; 1 teaspoon oflemon juice (or 1/2 tsp. of vinegar); 1 fresh chili pepper (a small one, or a dried cayenne pepper if that's not available); 1 pod ofgarlic; 2 tbsp ofsesame seeds; 4 tbsp ofpeanuts (unsalted and unroasted); 1 teaspoon ofnuoc-mâm sauce (or soy sauce); 1 pinch ofpepper

Vietnamese Chicken, Shrimp, and Grapefruit Salad

main courses lunar new year no cooking required poultry salads

Updated on 14 April 2025 by

toquetoque

10 reviews 4.19 : Very good

Cuisine

Vietnam

Diet

Lightweight

Level

Easy

Calories

150 pour 100g

Preparation

30 minutes

Cooking

7 minutes

I adapted this recipe for a Vietnamese salad with chicken, shrimp, and grapefruit from the famous book La Cuisine Vietnamienne et Chinoise, Nguyen Ngoc Rao, Guide Marabout, 190 pages.

It’s a salad that’s complete, healthy, and filling—perfect for a summer lunch. The dressing that accompanies it is fragrant and delightfully crunchy thanks to the roasted peanuts and sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

For

people

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For the salad
100 g of soybean sprouts
100 g of bamboo shoots canned
1 cucumber large, preferably organic, since it's unpeeled
1 onion average
1 chicken breast
100 g of grapefruits
50 g of pork loin or chest
100 g of raw shrimp

For the salad dressing
3 tbsp of sunflower oil or grape seeds. I avoid olive oil when cooking Asian dishes.
2 tbsp of sesame oil
20 leaves of mint
1 teaspoon of lemon juice or 1/2 tsp. of vinegar
1 fresh chili pepper a small one, or a dried cayenne pepper if that's not available
1 pod of garlic
2 tbsp of sesame seeds
4 tbsp of peanuts unsalted and unroasted
1 teaspoon of nuoc-mâm sauce or soy sauce
1 pinch of pepper

Preparing the salad
- 1
  Slice the chicken breast into strips along the grain, and place it in a steamer.
- 2
  Cut the pork loin into strips and place it in the steamer.
- 3
  Remove the heads from the shrimp and peel them. Cut them in half lengthwise, and place them in the steamer with the chicken and pork.
- 4
  Steam the chicken, pork, and shrimp together for 7 minutes. Once they're done cooking, remove them from the steamer and set them aside in a bowl in the fridge for at least half an hour.
- 5
  Meanwhile, wash the cucumber without peeling it, and slice it into thin strips using a mandoline if you have one.
  Cut the strips so that they measure about 5 cm by 2 cm.
  Place the cucumber strips in a large mixing bowl.
- 6
  Peel and finely chop the onion, then add it to the mixing bowl.
- 7
  Rinse and drain the bean sprouts and bamboo shoots. Add them to the salad bowl.
- 8
  Peel the grapefruit and remove the pith.
  Cut the grapefruit into fairly thin slices and add them to the bowl.
Preparing the sauce
- 9
  Pour the sesame and sunflower oil into a bowl or small mixing bowl.
- 10
  In a small mortar or garlic press, crush the chili pepper along with the peeled and de-germed garlic. Add it to the oil in the bowl.
- 11
  Pour the lemon juice into the bowl. Rinse and finely chop the mint leaves, then add them to the rest of the sauce.
- 12
  Toast the sesame seeds for 2–3 minutes in a skillet. Remove them as soon as they start to give off a roasted aroma—they mustn’t burn!
  Add them to the sauce.
- 13
  Toast the peanuts separately, then crush them coarsely with a mortar and pestle or in a food processor.
  Add them to the sauce.
Final assembly
- 14
  Add the pork, chicken, and shrimp to the vegetables in the large mixing bowl.
- 15
  Pour the salad dressing over the top and toss well. There you go—it's ready!

Comments

Lû Lam
July 2, 2025

Je prépare cette salade depuis presque 50 ans ( sortie guide marabout 1975-76) elle est délicieuse. Il y a aussi dans la sauce vinaigrette du nuoc mâm et un peu de sucre.
Je suis Sino-Vietnamienne, née en Indochine/ Saïgon.
Je vous remercie de la faire connaître. Toutes les recettes asiatiques sur internet sont faites pour les Européens qui ne connaissent pas le vrai goût asiatique. Bravo “joyeux gourmet”
❤️1
Reply
- Sylvain
  February 18, 2026
  Bonjour Lû, quelle surprise alors ! Je suis ravi de savoir que ce petit livre est également connu et apprécié des vietnamiens eux-mêmes ! Et je ne me rendais pas compte qu’il était si ancien déjà ! Mais c’est vrai que lorsque j’y repense, cela fait au moins 25 ans si ce n’est plus que je connais ce livre. Je me souviens encore de matinées entières passées à préparer des rouleaux de printemps pour en faire profiter ma sœur et mes parents 😅
  Et oui, cette salade est autant colorée et jolie à regarder, que délicieuse à la dégustation !
  Oui joyeux gourmet c’est top au niveau de la qualité des recettes. N’hésitez pas à partager les vôtres aussi. Sur ce site on apprécie justement la cuisine authentique et la transmission des savoir-faire, pour perpétuer les belles traditions culinaires de tous les pays !
  Reply