National Dish Vietnam: Goi Nam (Recipe)
In this article
Gỏi Nấm is the Vietnamese salad principle applied to mushrooms: everything shredded fine, dressed in a lime and fish sauce nước trộn, and piled with herbs and crushed peanuts. Oyster mushrooms take the dressing beautifully, and the whole thing takes about ten minutes from start to table.
About Goi Nam
Gỏi Nấm is a fresh Vietnamese mushroom salad. Tender oyster mushrooms meet crisp vegetables, fragrant herbs and a zesty lime-and-fish-sauce dressing. Light, aromatic and ready in minutes, it makes an excellent starter and shows off the range of Vietnamese cooking — where a gỏi can be built on almost anything, from green papaya to banana flower to, as here, mushrooms.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 200 g oyster or straw mushrooms
- 1 carrot, cut into fine strips
- ¼ cucumber, cut into fine strips
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- Fresh mint and coriander
- 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- Fried shallots, to garnish
Shopping for the ingredients
Oyster mushrooms have the right texture — they shred into strands that hold the dressing. Straw mushrooms, sold tinned, are the more traditional choice in Vietnam. Buy plenty of fresh herbs, since a Vietnamese salad uses them by the handful rather than as garnish.
Preparing the dish
Tear rather than slice the mushrooms, so the dressing clings to the ragged edges. Cut the vegetables into fine, even strips — a julienne peeler makes this trivial. Mix the dressing first and taste it: it should be sharp, salty and sweet in roughly equal measure.
Step-by-step instructions
- Whisk the fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, garlic and chilli into a dressing; taste and adjust.
- Blanch the mushrooms briefly in boiling water, 1–2 minutes, then drain and cool.
- Squeeze out excess water and tear into strips.
- Toss the mushrooms with the carrot, cucumber and red onion.
- Pour over the dressing and mix thoroughly.
- Fold through the torn mint and coriander at the last moment.
- Scatter with peanuts and fried shallots and serve immediately.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
The salad is naturally lactose-free and gluten-free, provided your fish sauce contains no wheat — most do not, but a few brands add it. Nothing else needs changing.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Replace the fish sauce with a vegan version or with light soy sauce plus a pinch of sugar and salt, and the salad becomes fully vegan. Mushrooms already provide the savoury depth, so the substitution costs very little.
More tips and tricks
Squeeze the blanched mushrooms properly — wet mushrooms dilute the dressing and the salad turns watery. Dress it at the last minute, since the salt draws liquid from the vegetables. And do not hold back on the herbs; they are an ingredient, not a decoration.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Shredded green mango or papaya adds sharpness. Poached prawns or shredded chicken turn it into a main course. Vietnamese perilla or rau răm alongside the mint gives it a more authentic herb profile.
Ingredient substitutions
Any mushroom works, though firm varieties hold up best. Rice vinegar can replace some of the lime juice. Cashews substitute for peanuts, and shallots for the red onion.
Drink pairing ideas
Cold Vietnamese beer with ice is the standard pairing for gỏi. Iced jasmine tea works beautifully without alcohol. Fresh lime soda echoes the dressing and is hard to beat on a hot day.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve gỏi nấm piled high on a plate rather than in a bowl, with the peanuts and fried shallots scattered on top at the very last moment so they stay crisp. Prawn crackers on the side are the traditional accompaniment, used as edible spoons.
A bit of history
Gỏi covers a whole family of Vietnamese salads built on the same principle: shredded raw or lightly cooked ingredients, a sharp fish sauce dressing, masses of herbs and something crunchy on top. Mushroom versions have become popular in vegetarian Buddhist cooking, which has a long tradition in Vietnam. It offers a genuine window onto Vietnamese cuisine.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Goi Nam
Gỏi Nấm is torn mushrooms tossed with shredded vegetables, a lime-fish sauce dressing and a great many herbs. Ten minutes, no cooking beyond a quick blanch, and one of the freshest starters in Vietnamese cooking.
