Thai Chicken Salad
This salad hits all the Thai flavors: sweet, sour, salty, and spicy. The key is the homemade peanut dressing, which pulls everything together. The recipe starts with poaching the chicken, which ensures it's moist and tender enough for a cold salad.
Ingredients
For the Peanut-Lime Dressing
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2-4 tablespoons hot water as needed
For the Salad
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound total)
- 4 cups shredded Napa cabbage
- 2 cups shredded red cabbage
- 1 large carrot julienned
- 1 mango julienned
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
- 1 fresh red chile like Fresno, thinly sliced
- 4 scallions sliced on the diagonal
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 4 tablespoons fresh mint chopped
- 3/4 cup roasted salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
Method
- Place chicken in saucepan, cover with salted water by 1 inch.
- Bring to gentle simmer, reduce heat, cover and cook 10-15 minutes until 165°F internal temperature.
- Cool chicken completely, then shred with forks.
- Whisk peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic.
- Add hot water gradually until dressing reaches pourable consistency.
- Combine shredded chicken, both cabbages, carrot, mango, bell pepper, onion, chile, scallions, herbs in large bowl.
- Add 3/4 of dressing and half the peanuts, toss well to coat.
- Adjust dressing to taste, top with remaining peanuts.
Notes
Serve immediately - vegetables will soften after 15 minutes.
Chicken can be poached and shredded one day ahead.