Thai Chicken Salad

This week it was my turn to select the salad recipe for the group to experiment with. I decided to share a recipe for Thai chicken salad that we made during a cooking class last spring. I remember at the time that we loved it because it was so fresh and light tasting.

Picture a plate full of veggies that has been lightly brushed with a tangy lime based dressing. On top of the crisp veggies is placed shredded chicken breast - also dressed with a slightly different tangy lime-based dressing (although this one has some happy heat from red chillies). These two separate parts come together nicely and the result is an amazing salad that is crisp, light, and refreshing.

For those who are watching their calories this is a salad to remember as there is no oil at all - in fact the only 'bad thing' about this recipe is the fish sauce which is high in sodium - shhhhh . . . don't tell Paul!

We've made the salad a few times since the cooking class and I've modified a few things - i.e. added crushed nuts and cilantro as a garnish . . . I think we've got it now!

By the way, don't be put off by the long list of ingredients . . . it isn't a hard dish to put together as it can be assembled in stages.

Enjoy!

Thai Chicken Salad

For the chicken:

4 roasted chicken breasts
½ tsp chopped galangal (can substitute with ginger)
Juice of two limes
1 ½ tsp minced bird’s eye chilies (or 1 tsp chili paste such as sambel oelek)
2 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 kaffir lime laves – centre rib removed, cut in a chiffonade
¾ tsp fish sauce

Shred the chicken breast.
Mix all of the dressing ingredients.
Toss the shredded chicken with the dressing. Adjust the seasonings – there should be a balance of hot, sour, and salt. To adjust seasonings in Thai food follow these rough guidelines . . . if it is too sweet add more fish sauce . . . too salty add more sugar . . . not tangy enough - add more lime juice . . . not hot enough - add more chili or some sambel oelek

For the salad base:

2 T fish sauce
2 T palm sugar – (can substitute with regular or brown sugar)
¼ cup lime juice
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 bird’s eye chilies, minced
1 bunch watercress, trimmed
8 Napa cabbage leaves cut in a chiffonade
16 cherry tomatoes cut in half
1 cup blanched green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths
½ bunch cilantro, leaves trimmed and coarsely chopped
½ bunch mint, leaves trimmed and cut in a chiffonade

½ cup roasted peanuts (non-salted) or cashews, chopped

Mix the fish sauce through to chilies in a jar. Stir/shake well to dissolve sugar. Taste for seasonings). Store it in the refrigerator overnight so the flavours come together.
Mix together the watercress through mint in a large bowl.
Toss with dressing.

To serve:
Divide the vegetable mixture amongst 4 plates.
Add the chicken on top of the vegetable mixture.
Sprinkle with chopped, roasted nuts. You can also add some cilantro to garnish.

Comments

[Annie]

"Happy heat" - great phrase! I loved this salad - great choice!

[Marcia]

If only I had read the note about roasting the chicken and making dressing the night before, well, I probably still would have stretched it out over a long afternoon, worked out well and tasted delicious.

[Jerry]

Happy heat is my favourite - just enough for a bit of burn but not enough to put one over the edge.

Marcia - I'm not very good about pacing things out either! LOL

[María I.]

Hubby and I loved this salad! Thanks for an amazing recipe. It was so easy to put together and I’m thinking of making it again soon. During the summer months I usually roast a whole chicken every week, shred it and keep in the fridge for quick meals with little to no cooking. This salad is perfect for our summer months. Lots of flavors and so delicious. Thanks again!

[Jerry]

I'm glad that you liked it Maria. It is one of those recipes that looks far more challenging than it actually is because of the long list of ingredients. Having made it a few times I am now ready to play around with it a bit more . . .

[appetizer recipes]

Jerry,

Your recipe for a chicken salad really looks tempting. A Thai salad dressing would be nice addition.