Vietnamese Green Mango Calamari Salad (Goi Xoai Xanh Muc)
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Vietnamese Green Mango Calamari Salad (Gỏi Xoài Xanh Mực)
Traditional salads in Vietnamese cuisine are called Gỏi. This is not to be confused with Western-style salads that consist of leafy greens, which are called Sa Lát (the Vietnamese word for salad).
Some of the most popular Vietnamese goi salads include papaya, unripe green mangoes, and banana blossoms. They are thinly sliced, tossed together with your favorite protein, and garnished with fresh Vietnamese coriander (rau răm), toasted peanuts, fried shallots, and drizzled with a fish sauce dressing.
Today’s recipe is a traditional Vietnamese salad of green mangoes and calamari (Gỏi Xoài Xanh Mực). It’s an incredibly delicious and refreshing salad that’s packed with a wonderful combination of Southeast Asian flavors and textures. You can enjoy it on its own as a light and healthy snack, or as an appetizer to a main dish.
Calamari, unripe green mango, shallot, ginger, fried shallots, shrimp crackers, and Vietnamese coriander (rau ram).
What You Will Need
Green mangoes — The star of the dish. They provide the crunch and tang to the salad. These are mangoes that haven’t fully ripened yet but are still edible. You can find them easily in Asian supermarkets. To make it easier to slice, look for the large mangoes that are firm to the touch. I like to leave the peel on for added crunch and a nice pop of green.
Calamari — Calamari comes in a variety of sizes and different stages of prep. I like to buy the really large ones that come in a pack of one. They are completely white and come with tentacles attached. You can find these in the frozen seafood section of an Asian grocery. Don’t like calamari? No problem. Substitute with scallops, shrimp, or fried tofu.
Toasted peanuts — Provides that extra crunch and nutty taste. Unless you’re allergic, don’t omit this ingredient!
Fried shallots — You can easily get fried shallots from the store, but it’s never as tasty as the ones made fresh at home. Homemade fried shallots provide the most amazing aroma known to mankind. Here’s how to make it at home.
Fish Sauce Dipping Sauce (Nước Mắm Chấm or simply, Nước Chấm) — No creamy dressing here. This is a fish sauce-based dressing, made with fish sauce, sugar, water, coconut soda (my family’s secret), lime juice, chopped garlic, and fresh red chilies.
Nước Mắm Chấm is Vietnam’s mother sauce. We use this sh*t on everything. If you never had fish sauce, don’t be afraid. In its raw form, straight from the bottle, yes, it can smell like death. It needs to be diluted and mixed with the ingredients mentioned earlier. Once mixed, the funkiness fades and what you have is an amazingly awesome sauce.
Vietnamese coriander or Vietnamese mint (Rau Răm) — Vietnamese coriander has a bit of a peppery flavor so you don’t need a lot but you need some for an authentic Vietnamese salad. If you can’t find this, substitute with cilantro, Thai basil, or mint.
Shrimp chips/crackers — Traditional Vietnamese salads are served with crispy shrimp chips. You can either break them into small pieces or leave them whole to use them as a scoop for the salad. You can find shrimp crackers at Asian grocery stores either already fried or unfried. Unfried form, which is what I prefer, comes in small rectangular packages. The chips look like small white discs. Once it hits hot oil, it rapidly expands and looks like styrofoam, but tastes like crispy shrimpy goodness.
Prep the calamari by blanching them with shallots and ginger for a wonderful aroma. Slice the unripe mango into thin strips.
How to Make Vietnamese Green Mango Calamari Salad
First, prepare the mangoes by slicing them into thin strips. For the most uniform slices, I like to use my handy dandy Vietnam-made plastic julienned hand shredder. You can find similar peelers on Amazon. If you have a food processor, insert a julienned blade to do it much faster.
Next, score and cut the calamari into bite-sized pieces then poach with ginger and shallots. Don’t forget the tentacles! Use those too! Poaching will get rid the seafood funk and covers it with a wonderful Asian perfume. Do the same if you are using scallops or shrimp. Most importantly, avoid overcooking seafood, as they will become tough and rubbery. If using tofu, no need for poaching. Simply cut into cubes and pan-fry with oil until golden brown on all sides.
Make your fish sauce dressing. Fry your shrimp chips.
To assemble the salad, toss the sliced green mangoes, poached calamari (or your protein of choice) and Vietnamese coriander together in a large bowl. Drizzle with the fish sauce dressing. Add as little or much as you like. Give everything a toss to combine then transfer the salad to serving plates. Garnish with a sprinkle of fried shallots and serve with shrimp chips on the side.
Prepare it in Advance
Like all salads, you can prep this ahead of time. Just make sure to keep everything separate until you are ready to serve. Store each component in separate airtight containers in the fridge. When you are ready to serve the dish, toss everything together and you’re done! Recipe below. Happy cooking!
Vietnamese Green Mango Calamari Salad (Gỏi Xoài Xanh Mực)
Vietnamese Green Mango Calamari Salad (Gỏi Xoài Xanh Mực)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Give the calamari a good rinse to remove any fishy smell. Pat dry with paper towels. Cut open calamari with the interior facing up. Score the interior in a crosshatch pattern then cut it into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
- Fill a small pot with water, add sliced ginger and shallots, and bring the pot to a boil. Let the aromatics release their fragrance (about 3 minutes) then add calamari. Cook for 2 minutes or until calamari starts to curl. Remove calamari from the pot and set aside.
- Sliced the mango into thin strips with a julienne peeler.
- Make the shrimp chips. I only use half of the package. Add 2 inches of vegetable oil to a large skillet and heat to 350°F. Add 3 or 4 chips at a time. Don't overcrowd the skillet. Fry until it fully expands out flat (about 10 seconds). Flip chips for even cooking. Transfer to a wire rack or a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess oil.
- Make the fish sauce dressing. In a medium bowl, combine sugar and hot water until sugar dissolvs. Add rest of ingredients (fish sauce, lemon/lime juice, coconut soda, chili peppers and garlic). Mix until combined.
- Put everything together. Combine mango, calamari, and Vietnamese coriander leaves in a large bowl. Add a little drizzle of fish sauce dressing (a little at a time to your liking) and toss to combine. Garnish salad with toasted peanuts and fried shallots. Serve with shrimp chips.
Notes
You can substitute the calamari for something else such as scallops, shrimp, or tofu.
You can substitute Vietnamese coriander with cilantro, mint, or Thai basil.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
360Fat
6 gSat. Fat
4 gCarbs
59 gFiber
5 gNet carbs
54 gSugar
50 gProtein
21 gSodium
1576 mgCholesterol
264 mgThe values provided should be considered estimates. Factors such as brands purchased, natural variations in fresh ingredients, etc. will change the nutritional information in any recipe. To obtain accurate nutritional information for a recipe, use your preferred nutrition calculator to determine nutritional information with the actual ingredients and quantities used.
