Asian Chicken Salad
This recipe might be my favorite! I love that it is colorful, refreshing, and easy to make. To top it off, the kelp noodles are full of vitamin A and K, along with minerals like iodine, magnesium, calcium, and iron.
Check out this Healthline article about the health benefits of kelp noodles!
The other thing I love about this recipe is that you create different versions of it utilizing different kinds of protein, adding some additional vegetables, or even making the dressing a little bit different each time. My husband and I made this recipe recently utilizing a delicious smoked pork tenderloin. I hope you enjoy this Asian salad recipe!
Side note: My family enjoyed this recipe so much, they requested it for Thanksgiving. I was a little surprised, and I was not sure how it would blend with the more traditional thanksgiving meals. However, it worked out pretty well! It might become a Thanksgiving tradition. We will see!
Ingredients for the salad:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 package 12 oz. kelp noodles
1.5 cups shredded carrots
1 bell pepper (color of your choice)
1/2 - 1 small red onion finely chopped. I love onions so I included the whole onion. Some people may enjoy the salad with fewer onions.
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 head chopped purple cabbage
1/2 head chopped green cabbage
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/4 cup peanuts to garnish
1/4 cup green onions and/or microgreens to garnish
Ingredients for the Dressing:
4 cloves garlic pressed
1 small piece of ginger (about 3 inches x 1 inch) finely chopped, pressed, or juiced (You can also use ginger powder if you have that more readily available)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons coconut aminos (or gluten-free soy sauce)
2 tablespoons organic maple syrup
4 teaspoons of sea salt
2 teaspoons of black pepper
Sweet red chili by Thai Kitchen to drizzle over each serving
DIRECTIONS:
For the shredded chicken, boil 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts for about 15 minutes or until fully cooked. Shred by hand, with two forks, or in a food processor. You can also simmer a whole chicken for 3-4 hours in water, creating a delicious broth for soup, which is typically my preferred way of making shredded chicken. After 3-4 hours, let your chicken cool and then remove the bones and skin.
Chop all salad ingredients and combine.
Combine all dressing ingredients.
Toss salad and dressing together.
Garnish with peanuts, green onion, and/or microgreens. I used all three on my salad.
Drizzle Thai Kitchen’s sweet red chili sauce on top. You can choose the amount here. This sauce adds a little bit of sweetness and color to your dish. I recently realized that this chili sauce is basically straight sugar. I will prob add a little bit more maple syrup to the dressing and forgo the chili sauce in the future. Maple syrup is sweet and has some nutrients in it. The chili sauce is refined sugar without nutrients, which I try to avoid as much as possible.
Enjoy!