Vietnamese Rice Bowls with Grilled Chicken and Pickled Vegetables (2024)

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The recipe for my adapted Vietnamese Rice Bowl with Grilled Chicken, Pickled Vegetables + Nuoc Cham (sweet, sour, and sometimes spicy citrusy Vietnamese Salad Dressing) is out of this world delicious! Its other name is Com Ga Nuong. It's perfect for summer barbecues or hot days when you're craving something refreshing and satisfying.

Vietnamese Rice Bowls

I've never been to Vietnam but I have been to about a million Vietnamese restaurants.

And every time, without fail, I tell myself that I'm going to order something different.

And every time, without fail, I see Com Ga Nuong and get instant anxiety about missing out my favorite chicken and rice bowl. Hah.

So why do I love this dish so much? To me, Vietnamese Rice bowls are the perfect food. They're packed full of flavor, they're pretty healthy, and it's relatively easy to make at home.

You'll love these rice bowls that are filled with marinated fresh Vietnamese grilled chicken skewers, pickled vegetables, and brown rice with a ton of fresh herbs. The Nuoc Cham is essentially Vietnamese Salad Dressing and you'll love it on literally everything!

And since I love cooking more than eating out, I thought I should share this tasty Vietnamese recipe!

Vietnamese Grilled Chicken

Making Vietnamese grilled chicken for these rice bowls is super easy!

To begin, make sure that you have the ingredients. Most of these can be found at your local asian market or you could overnight them on amazon prime. Each are linked out in case you'd like to stock up!

Let's start with the pantry staples that you most likely have on hand - shallots, garlic, white sugar, pepper.

Here's the stuff that you might not have - dark soy sauce, fish sauce, and grape seed oil. If you're looking for an alternative oil, you could definitely use another neutral oil and still get similar results.

Now that you have ingredients, let's prep the Vietnamese chicken!

To begin, Add dark soy sauce, fish sauce, grape seed oil, shallots, garlic, sugar and pepper into a bowl. Whisk it together until everything's incorporated and taste. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.

How to Make Vietnamese Rice Bowls aka Com Ga Nuong

Assembling these rice bowls are quite easy!

To begin, marinate your Vietnamese chicken. While the chicken is marinating, you can make the other components.

Start with the pickled carrots and daikon. Toss them with salt and let them sit in a strainer to remove excess liquid. After 15 minutes has passed, rinse them off and let them dry on a paper towel.

Make the pickling liquid by combining water, sugar and white vinegar. Whisk everything together then add the vegetables and let them pickle for at least 20 minutes.

Then prepare some brown rice. You can use white rice if you'd like!

Now it's time to make the nuoc cham aka Vietnamese Salad Dressing. It's legit the best sauce in the world!

Add water and sugar to a bowl and stir for 1 minute until dissolved. Then add in lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, and sambal. Lastly, add more fish sauce if you'd like it saltier and add more sambal if you like it spicy!

Now that everything is prepped, go ahead and grill the chicken!

To assemble the Com Ga Nuong bowls, add a scoop of brown rice, then some pickled vegetables, some fresh herbs, cucumbers, and a few grilled chicken skewers. Serve each bowl with some of the nuoc cham for added flavor!

RECIPE: Vietnamese Rice Bowls with Grilled Chicken, Pickled Daikon and Carrots + Nuoc Cham (Sweet, Sour, Salty Dipping Sauce/Vietnamese Salad Dressing)

Recipe

RECIPE:Vietnamese Rice Bowls with Grilled Chicken Pickled Daikon and Carrots + Nuoc Cham (Sweet, Sour, Salty Dipping Sauce)

Light, refreshing, and filling, grilled chicken bowls are packed full of Vietnamese Flavor.

4.73 from 11 votes

Ingredients

--FOR THE CHICKEN MARINADE--

2 large shallots minced
3 cloves garlic minced
¼ cup white sugar
½ tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce the thick one!
1 tablespoon fish sauce
¼ cup grapeseed oil or another neutral oil
1.5 lbs chicken breast cut into chunks

--FOR THE NUOC CHAM DIPPING SAUCE--

⅓ cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons sugar
the juice from ½ fresh lime
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 garlic clove finely minced
1 teaspoon sambal or sriracha or a few slices of birds eye chili if you can find 'em

--FOR THE PICKLED CARROTS AND DAIKON--

1 teaspoon salt divided
½ cup grated carrots
½ cup grated daikon radish
¼ cup warm water
2 tablespoon sugar
¼ cup white vinegar

--FOR THE BOWLS--

5 cups brown rice
¼ cup fresh mint
¼ cup fresh cilantro
2 scallions diced
2 tablespoon cripsy fried garlic or onion for garnish
½ cup sliced english cucumbers
quick pickled daikon and carrots

Instructions

--FOR THE CHICKEN MARINADE--

Whisk together everything but the chicken in a small bowl for 1 minute until combined and sugar is starting to dissolved. Add the chicken chunks and stir to coat. Refrigerate over night or at least 4 hours.
Meanwhile, soak 6 long wooden skewers in water for at least an hour.
Fire up the grill and let it get all hot and fiery. Add a few chunks of chicken to each skewer and grill until the chicken is cooked through and there's a nice char on the nuggets. Remove from heat and set aside.

--FOR THE NUOC CHAM DIPPING SAUCE--

Add water and sugar to a bowl and stir for 1 minute until dissolved. Add in lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, and sambal. Add more fish sauce if you'd like it saltier and add more sambal if you like it spicy!

--FOR THE PICKLED CARROTS AND DAIKON--

Toss carrots and daikon with ½ teaspoon salt and place in a strainer over a sink/bowl. Let the mix sit for 15 minutes then rinse with cool water to wash off salt. Set on paper towels to dry.
Whisk together sugar with warm water until dissolved. Add in vinegar and stir again.
Toss pickling liquid with the vegetable mixture and let sit for at least 20 minutes.

--FOR THE BOWLS--

Add 2.5 cups of rice to one side of each bowl. Add cucumbers, pickled daikon and carrots, fresh cilantro, and fresh mint to the other side of each bowl.
Place 2-3 skewers on top of the rice side of each bowl and sprinkle with chopped scallions and crispy fried shallots.
Serve with nuoc cham and enjoy!

Did you make this recipe?Tag me on instagram @grilledcheesesocial so I can see it!

What to pair it with:

Try my easy Hibachi Chicken with Yum Yum Sauce and my Hibachi Noodles! Or any of these asian-inspired recipes!

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xoxo,

GCS