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This vibrant Vietnamese-inspired mushroom salad comes with sautéed oyster mushrooms, crispy red cabbage, tofu, and a ton of fresh herbs! It features a sweet, spicy, and sour lime dressing! Super refreshing, healthy, plant-based, and loaded with textures!
Have you ever tried using mushrooms in a salad? While it’s not very common, it’s nonetheless delicious! Called “Gỏi Nấm” in Vietnamese, this salad is one of my favorites!
⭐️ Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Super refreshing and healthy: This salad is loaded with colorful veggies and fresh herbs like basil and cilantro and comes with a bright and zesty oil-free dressing!
- Just 20 minutes + 12 ingredients: Just one pan is required and very basic ingredients.
- Loaded with texture and flavor: Featuring crunchy veggies like red cabbage and bell pepper, chewy mushrooms, and juicy cucumber!
🍄 How to Make Vietnamese Mushroom Salad
Let’s start by taking a look at what you will need:
- Oyster mushrooms – Their chewy and tender texture makes them perfect for this salad. If you can’t find oyster mushrooms, feel free to use king oysters or cremini mushrooms.
- Red cabbage – For color and a super crunchy texture!
- Carrot and cucumber – For a natural sweetness.
- Green bell pepper – Since the dressing of this salad is quite sweet; I went with green bell peppers, which are less sweet than orange and red peppers.
- Onion and garlic
- Tofu – Tofu brings protein to this salad. I highly recommend using fried tofu to prevent the tofu from crumbling. If you are not a fan of tofu, simply omit or replace it with shredded vegan chicken or your favorite meat substitute.
- Fresh herbs – I went with Thai basil and cilantro here. You can also add some chopped mint for a fresher flavor.
- Peanuts – Use roasted peanuts for extra crunch and subtle nuttiness. Roasted cashews will work as well!
It starts with the carrots and cucumber that are finely grated. Once grated, toss them with salt and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes. This step will help soften them and remove a lot of moisture. Drain, rinse, and squeeze the vegetables between your hands to remove excess water.
In the meantime, let’s prepare the mushrooms! Sauté the sliced mushrooms for a few minutes or until golden brown. Next, add the green bell peppers, tofu, and sliced onions, and cook for just one minute.
Let it cool, and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the shredded cabbage, carrots, cucumber, and chopped fresh herbs.
🍋 Dressing
For the dressing (which is oil-free!), simply combine all of these ingredients together:
- Sweet chili sauce – I usually use the Cholimex or Chin-su brand. You can also learn how to make your own sweet chili sauce if you don’t have access to these.
- Vegan fish sauce – If you want to make this salad as authentic as possible, use vegan fish sauce. Otherwise, simply use soy sauce.
- Lime juice – For freshness and a zesty flavor.
- Sugar – To balance with the sourness.
Toss the salad with the dressing, top with roasted peanuts, and enjoy!
💬 FAQ
Oyster mushrooms work best for this recipe. However, almost any type of mushroom will work. If using cremini instead of oyster mushrooms, use about 1 cup shredded.
Of course! The salad will be slightly sweeter but still delicious!
This salad is best served on the same day. You can serve it at room temperature or chill it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
I hope you are going to love this mushroom salad! It’s citrusy, flavorful, and light, yet super satisfying!
🥗 More Salad Recipes
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Vietnamese Mushroom & Tofu Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 carrot grated
- 1/2 small cucumber grated
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 12-15 oyster mushrooms cut into thick strips
- 1/2 green bell pepper sliced
- 1/2 onion thinly sliced
- 2.5 ounces fried tofu cut into strips
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
- 1/4 cup losely packed Thai basil
- 1/4 cup losely packed chopped cilantro
- 3 tbsp roasted peanuts
Dressing
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp sweet chili sauce or use 2 tsp sriracha
- 1 tbsp vegan fish sauce or soy sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Place the grated carrots and cucumber in a small bowl. Add 1/4 tsp of salt and stir to coat. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Next, drain and rinse the carrots and cucumbers and squeeze them between your hands to remove the remaining water. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic and sauté for one minute. Next, add the mushrooms and sauté for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown.
- Add the sliced green bell pepper, onion, and tofu, and sauté for another minute. Remove from heat, transfer to a large mixing bowl, and let cool for at least 15 minutes.
- Add the grated carrots, cucumber, sliced red cabbage, Thai basil, cilantro, and the dressing. Toss everything until well combined.
- Serve immediately at room temperature, or let it chill for 3 hours in the refrigerator. Before serving, top with roasted peanuts.
- This salad is best enjoyed the same day but will keep for another day in the refrigerator. Before serving, toss again to coat everything with the dressing.
Dressing
- In a small bowl, stir all of the ingredients together until the sugar has dissolved.
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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Thank you Thomas. I’ve just made it and it’s really tasty! Sadly it doesn’t look as gorgeous as yours and I only had button mushrooms on hand, which released a lot of water in the pan . I read your comment about shredding them only after making the salad.
Will definitely try again when I come across oyster mushrooms.
Thanks for your feedback Anni! 🙂
This is so delicious and easy to make. The oyster mushrooms make the dish. Thanks so much!!
Glad you liked it! Thanks for your feedback KJ 🙂