This Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad (Goi Ga) is a PCOS-friendly recipe with 401 calories, 46.9g protein, and 24g carbs per serving. Ready in 35 minutes. High in fiber (8g), which supports insulin sensitivity.
Nutrition per Serving
Goi ga is a Vietnamese salad of poached chicken and shredded cabbage, tossed in lime and fish sauce with lots of fresh herbs. It is crunchy, sour, salty and fresh, with no oil in the dressing. This version adds edamame for extra protein. Each plate has 401 calories and 47g of protein, and it packs well for lunch.
Grocery list:
- Boneless, skinless chicken breast
- Chinese leaf (napa cabbage)
- Carrot
- Cucumber
- Red onion
- Frozen shelled edamame
- Fresh mint
- Fresh coriander
- Dry-roasted unsalted peanuts
- Limes
- Fish sauce
- Garlic
- Red chilli
Nutrition notes: Figures are per serving, half the batch, worked from USDA FoodData Central values for every weighed ingredient. Chicken is counted as raw weight. Fish sauce is very salty and most of the sodium comes from it. Some Vietnamese cooks add a spoon of sugar to the dressing. This version leaves it out.
Keeps: Undressed, the salad keeps 2 days in the fridge. Keep the dressing and peanuts separate and add them just before eating so the cabbage stays crisp.
Ingredients
Instructions
-
Put the chicken in a small pan and cover with cold water by 3cm. Add a pinch of salt. Bring to a gentle simmer, then turn the heat to low, cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until cooked through. Cut the thickest part to check.Lift the chicken out and leave it to cool for 10 minutes. Shred it into strips with 2 forks.While the chicken cooks, soak the sliced red onion in cold water for 10 minutes to soften its bite, then drain.Make the dressing. Stir the lime juice, fish sauce, garlic and chilli together with 1 tablespoon of water.In a large bowl, toss the cabbage, carrot, cucumber, onion, edamame and shredded chicken.Tear in the mint and coriander, pour over the dressing and toss well.Pile onto plates and scatter the chopped peanuts on top.
Why this works for PCOS
Lunch salads often leave people hungry by mid-afternoon because they are mostly leaves. This one is built around chicken and edamame, so each plate has 47g of protein. The carbs come to 24g, nearly all from vegetables, with 8g of fibre.
A lunch that is high in protein and low in starch tends to give steadier energy through the afternoon. For people with PCOS and insulin resistance, that often means fewer cravings later in the day.
The ingredients doing the work
- Poached chicken: lean protein that stays soft when shredded.
- Cabbage, carrot and cucumber: a lot of crunch and volume for very few calories.
- Peanuts: a little fat and crunch to make the salad satisfying.
- Lime and fish sauce: a dressing with no oil and no sugar that still tastes bold.
Things to check
Fish sauce is usually anchovies, salt and sometimes a little sugar, but some brands add other things. Check the label if you avoid certain foods. Leave out the peanuts if you have a nut allergy and use toasted sesame seeds instead.
How this fits a PCOS week
One good recipe is easy. A whole week that skips the foods you avoid is the hard part. PCOS Meal Planner builds your week around the food you actually cook, keeps out what you do not eat, and turns it into one shopping list.
Why this Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad (Goi Ga) works for PCOS
With 46.9g of protein per serving (about 47% of calories), this Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad (Goi Ga) sits at the top end of the 25-35g per-meal range that the 2023 International PCOS Guideline recommends for managing insulin resistance and supporting lean mass. Higher-protein meals also blunt the glucose response when carbohydrates are included, which matters for women with PCOS because chronic insulin elevation drives androgen excess and irregular cycles.
The 24g of carbohydrates here come paired with 8g of fibre, which slows glucose absorption and produces a flatter post-meal blood sugar curve. Fibre is one of the most under-rated tools for PCOS: it feeds gut bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids linked to improved insulin sensitivity, and it modestly lowers circulating androgens by binding bile acids in the gut.
Lunch is where most PCOS meal plans either succeed or collapse. A meal like this Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad (Goi Ga) that combines adequate protein, fibre-rich carbs, and fat keeps blood sugar stable for the rest of the workday and reduces the late-afternoon energy crash that drives sugar cravings around 3-4pm.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad (Goi Ga) recipe is designed to be PCOS-friendly. At 401 calories per serving with 46.9g of protein, it supports balanced blood sugar and hormonal health. It also provides 8g of fiber, which helps with insulin sensitivity.
This recipe takes about 35 minutes total. Prep time is 20 minutes and cook time is 15 minutes. It makes 2 servings, so you can meal prep for multiple days.
Per serving: 401 calories, 46.9g protein (47%), 24g carbs, 14.5g fat. Plus 8g fiber. PCOS meal plans typically aim for 30% protein, 35% fat, 35% carbs to support insulin sensitivity.
Yes, this recipe works well as a PCOS-friendly Lunch. At 401 calories, it fits within typical PCOS meal plan targets for Lunch. Pair it with other PCOS-friendly foods throughout the day for balanced nutrition.
This recipe can be part of a structured PCOS meal plan. It makes 2 servings, making it great for meal prep. For a complete weekly plan tailored to your PCOS type, take our free 60-second quiz at pcosmealplanner.com/pcos-quiz to get a personalized 7-day meal plan.
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