Goi xoai – Vietnamese green mango salad Recipe
Goi xoai is a crunchy, refreshing salad made with slightly unripe mango, herbs and peanuts. The flavour is sweet, sour and gently spicy at the same time, and every bite has a satisfying crunch. In Vietnam it’s often served as a starter or a light snack with beer on hot evenings.
The combination of crisp unripe mango, fresh herbs and a bright fish-sauce-and-lime dressing makes this salad incredibly refreshing. It brings the flavours of a Vietnamese street stall straight to your table with very little effort.
Chef's tips
Choose firm, slightly underripe mangoes – they should be tart and crunchy, not soft and sweet. If the mango is very sour, balance it with a little extra sugar in the dressing.
How to serve
Serve in small bowls or on a shared platter as part of a spread with grilled meats or seafood. It also pairs nicely with cold beer or a simple sparkling water with lime.
Ingredients
- mango slightly unripe, firm, peeled and grated into thin strips - 2 piece
- carrot grated into thin strips - 1 piece
- red onion very thinly sliced - 0.5 piece
- fresh coriander chopped - 0.5 bunch
- fresh mint leaves picked - 0.5 bunch
- peanuts toasted and roughly chopped - 50 g
- dried shrimp optional, finely chopped - 20 g
- fish sauce - 3 tablespoon
- lime juice - 3 tablespoon
- sugar - 1.5 tablespoon
- water - 2 tablespoon
- chili pepper finely chopped, seeds removed for a milder version - 1 piece
- garlic finely chopped - 1 clove
Preparation
- Peel the mango, cut the flesh away from the stone and grate it on a coarse grater or cut into very thin strips with a knife.
- Peel the carrot and also grate it or cut into thin sticks.
- Slice the onion into very thin slivers, cover with cold water for 5 minutes to mellow the flavour, then drain and pat dry.
- In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, water, chopped chili and garlic, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- In a large bowl combine the mango, carrot, onion, coriander and mint leaves.
- If using dried shrimp, chop them finely and add to the bowl.
- Pour over the prepared dressing and mix everything thoroughly with your hands or tongs, gently squeezing so the mango and carrot soften slightly and absorb the flavour.
- Leave the salad to stand for 10 minutes at room temperature so the flavours meld.
- Before serving, sprinkle generously with the chopped peanuts.
Storage
This salad tastes best fresh, but you can keep it in the fridge for up to 1 day. Store the peanuts separately and add them just before serving so they stay crunchy.
I like to make this salad just before guests arrive so it stays really crisp. Keeping the peanuts aside until the last moment makes a big difference to the texture.
