National Dish Vietnam: Goi Mit Non (Recipe)
In this article
Gỏi Mít Non uses green jackfruit, which behaves nothing like the ripe fruit: boiled and shredded, it comes apart into meaty strands with almost no sweetness. Tossed with pork or prawns, herbs, peanuts and nước chấm, it becomes one of the best salads in central Vietnamese cooking.
About Goi Mit Non
Gỏi Mít Non is the refreshing salad of young green jackfruit. The still-unripe fruit is cooked, pulled into fine threads and combined with pork or prawns, crisp vegetables, fresh herbs and roasted peanuts into a wonderfully textured salad. Rounded off with a sweet-savoury nước chấm dressing, gỏi mít non is a classic of central Vietnamese cooking, particularly associated with Huế.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 250 g young green jackfruit (fresh or in brine, from an Asian shop)
- 80 g cooked pork or prawns
- 1 carrot, cut into fine strips
- 1 bunch coriander and mint
- 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fried shallots
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 garlic clove, ½ chilli
Shopping for the ingredients
Tinned young jackfruit in brine, not in syrup, is the practical choice and is sold in every Asian grocer. Rinse it well. Fresh green jackfruit is a considerable undertaking involving oiled hands and a sticky latex sap, and is not worth it for a first attempt.
Preparing the dish
Boil the jackfruit until tender, then pull it apart into strands with your fingers or two forks. Mix the dressing and taste it before it goes anywhere near the salad. It should be sharp, salty and sweet at once.
Step-by-step instructions
- Drain and rinse the tinned jackfruit thoroughly.
- Boil in water for 15 minutes until tender; drain and cool.
- Pull apart into fine strands, discarding any hard core.
- Whisk the fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, chopped garlic and chilli into a dressing.
- Slice the cooked pork thinly or halve the prawns.
- Combine the jackfruit, carrot and pork or prawns.
- Pour over the dressing and toss thoroughly.
- Fold through the herbs, scatter with peanuts and fried shallots, and serve at once.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
The salad is naturally lactose-free and gluten-free, provided the fish sauce contains no wheat, most do not, but a few brands add it. Nothing else needs changing.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Leave out the pork or prawns and replace the fish sauce with a vegan version or light soy sauce, and the salad is fully vegan. Jackfruit already provides the meaty texture, so it loses remarkably little.
More tips and tricks
Rinse tinned jackfruit properly, since the brine is assertive. Pull the strands apart by hand rather than chopping, which gives the right ragged texture. And dress it at the last moment, before the salt draws water from the vegetables.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Sesame seeds alongside the peanuts add depth. More chilli suits it. Vietnamese perilla or rau răm alongside the mint gives a more authentic herb profile.
Ingredient substitutions
Green papaya or green mango substitute for jackfruit with a sharper result. Shredded chicken works in place of pork. Cashews can replace peanuts.
Drink pairing ideas
Cold Vietnamese beer over ice is the standard gỏi pairing. Iced jasmine tea works without alcohol. Fresh lime soda echoes the dressing.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve gỏi mít non piled on a plate rather than in a bowl, with peanuts and fried shallots scattered at the last moment so they stay crisp. Prawn crackers on the side are the traditional accompaniment and are used as edible spoons.
A bit of history
Huế and central Vietnam have a distinct cooking tradition, shaped by the imperial court and marked by many small, carefully composed dishes. Green jackfruit is a regional speciality there, used as a vegetable rather than a fruit, one of many cases in Vietnamese cooking where something is eaten deliberately unripe. It offers a genuine window onto Vietnamese cuisine.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Goi Mit Non
Gỏi Mít Non is boiled young jackfruit pulled into strands and tossed with pork or prawns, herbs, peanuts and a lime-fish sauce dressing. Rinse the jackfruit, shred by hand, dress it last.
