Asian Chicken Salad – Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

This Asian rooster salad is packed stuffed with crunchy cabbage, contemporary veggies, tender rooster and tossed with the yummiest dressing. It retains properly for days!

This salad is extremely scrumptious – an absolute explosion of textures and flavors! The tangy, barely candy dressing is out of this world. I might eat this for days and by no means get sick of it (oh wait, I did!).

Vegetables for Asian Chicken Salad

This salad is loaded with contemporary, crunchy greens.

• Napa cabbage: Might even be referred to as Chinese cabbage. You’ll want about 1 medium head of cabbage for this recipe. Cut the cabbage in half lengthwise after which flip every half reduce-aspect down on the chopping board and slice throughout in skinny shreds.
• Red cabbage: Cut the cabbage in half, take away the core, flip one half of the cabbage reduce-aspect down and slice thinly. I exploit about 1/4 of a medium head of crimson cabbage for this recipe.
• Red bell pepper: Slice off the underside and prime. Remove the core. Cut the extensive strip of remaining pepper in skinny slices.
• Carrots: The carrots might be shredded on a field grater, in a food processor, sliced by hand, or storebought matchstick carrots work, too (which is what I exploit). 
• Green onions: Trim off the basis finish. Finely chop white and inexperienced components.
• Chopped cilantro: A half bunch of cilantro, chopped, is nearly excellent for this recipe. You can add roughly, to style.

The actual quantity of greens for the salad is variable. Add roughly, to style, and in case you omit one vegetable or one other, simply make up for it in quantity with one other of the veggies.

I desire all of the greens, however particularly the cabbage, thinly sliced.

You can use a food processor fitted with the shredding/slicing blade for optimum and even shredding, however I simply get in there with a superb previous-common knife and chopping board and slice as thinly as doable.

Add all the salad elements to a bowl and put together the dressing.

The Most Flavorful Dressing

The dressing for this salad is out-of-this-world scrumptious. You’ll want the next elements:

• Unseasoned rice vinegar: It’s essential to make use of unseasoned for the reason that recipe provides salt and sweetness with different elements.
• Soy sauce: I at all times use low-sodium; if utilizing full-sodium soy sauce, omit the pinch of salt.
• Honey: Add extra to style, after mixing, if wanted.
• Toasted sesame oil: This is definitely discovered within the Asian meals aisle.
• Olive oil: You can sub in one other kind of oil, if desired (grapeseed, vegetable, and many others).
• Garlic and Ginger: Fresh garlic and ginger is at all times a good suggestion. I usually use the frozen cubes, and that works nice, too.
• Peanut butter: This provides probably the most pleasant creamy sweetness to the dressing. It might be omitted for allergy goal or different causes, however I extremely advocate utilizing it for a properly-balanced dressing.

Once the salad elements are tossed collectively, add the dressing, and toss once more till evenly mixed.

Make-Ahead Salad

Because cabbage, and never lettuce, makes up the bottom of the salad, together with different crisp veggies, it stays crunchy for just a few days. Talk about greatest.lunch.ever.

I ate this salad for 3 days in a row, and I used to be nonetheless dreaming of it after it was gone.

It is refreshingly crunchy and scrumptious, and that tangy-candy dressing with the greens and tender rooster is actually one of the best salad combo ever. I can’t wait so that you can make it!

Asian Chicken Salad with the Yummiest Dressing

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Salad:

• 4 to five cups finely shredded Napa cabbage, about 1/2 of medium cabbage (see observe)
• 3 cups diced cooked rooster (see observe)
• 1 cup finely shredded crimson cabbage, about 1/4 of medium cabbage (see observe)
• 1 cup matchstick carrots (see observe)
• 1 cup julienned crimson pepper
• 2 inexperienced onions, white and inexperienced components finely chopped
• ¼ to ½ cup chopped contemporary cilantro

Dressing:

• ¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
• ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter (see observe)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons grated contemporary ginger
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Topping:

• Chow mein noodles, for topping
• Toasted sesame seeds, for topping

• Add all the salad elements to a big bowl and toss.

• Add all of the dressing elements to a blender and course of till easy. Taste, and add further honey, salt, and pepper, if wanted.

• Pour the dressing evenly over the salad and toss till evenly mixed.

• Top with chow mein noodles and toasted sesame seeds (non-obligatory) and serve instantly. The salad retains properly for a number of days within the fridge – if making forward of time, reserve the chow mein noodles and sesame seeds and add them simply earlier than serving.

Vegetables: the precise quantity of greens for this salad is variable. Add roughly, to style (and in case you omit one vegetable or one other, simply make up for it in quantity with one other of the veggies).

• Cabbage: you should utilize a knife/chopping board or the shredding disc on a food processor for the cabbage. I desire the cabbage finely sliced for this salad (I do it with a knife and simply slice as thinly as doable). 
• Carrots: the carrots might be shredded on a field grater, in a food processor, sliced by hand, or storebought matchstick carrots work, too (which is what I exploit). 

Chicken: I desire the rooster to be diced pretty small for this recipe. 
Peanut Butter: the peanut butter might be omitted for a extra primary French dressing dressing (though I extremely encourage the peanut butter – it lends a creamy sweetness that’s unimaginable within the salad). 

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American, Asian

Method: No-Bake

Serving: 1 serving (about 2 cups of salad), Calories: 197kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 48mg, Sodium: 506mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 7g

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe