Asian-Chicken-Salad

Asian-Chicken-Saladasian-chicken-salad-dressing

This month, we’re featuring simple salads. Today’s crunchy salad would be perfect to bring along to picnics or to pack ahead for lunch. Giulia from Audrey’s shows us how…

Crunchy Chicken Salad
by Giulia Doyle of Audrey’s

It’s that time of the year again when we want to shed our jackets and indulge in fresh salads. While I enjoy a classic Caesar, or a good romaine with buttermilk dressing, I also like to make salads that are not found on everyday menus. And if the dressing calls for coconut milk, then I’m even more inclined to try it. This is a delicious salad — the dressing adds brightness and the chicken and nuts provide you with some filling protein. This salad also keeps really well, so feel free to make it ahead for a potluck or Sunday lunch. Enjoy.

ginger-salad-dressingasian-chicken-salad-ingredients

Recipe: Crunchy Chicken Salad
Serves 4

You’ll need:

3 cups shredded Chinese cabbage
3 cups shredded red cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots (lengthwise to get soft curls)
1 cup unsalted cashews
1/4 cup chopped chives (try cutting with scissors)
1 cup roughly chopped mint leaves
1 cup torn cilantro leaves
4 small red thai chilies, seeds removed and finely sliced (optional if you don’t like spice)
4 fully cooked chicken breasts, cut into slices

For the coconut lime dressing:

1 cup of coconut milk
2 tbsp of fish sauce
4 tbsp of lime juice
2 tbsp of coconut sugar

Combine cabbage, carrot, cashews, chives, mint, cilantro and chicken in a large bowl and toss gently to combine.

In a measuring cup, combine coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. Stir well to combine. Pour half the dressing over the salad and gently toss. Divide between plates and top with chilies. Add more dressing to taste.

I like to make a lot of dressing and keep some in fridge to dip veggies in or pour over rice, but you can half the dressing recipe if you want to. Beware of the chilies, as they are very spicy. After slicing them, wash your hands very well and don’t touch your eyes or nose. If you prefer a little less spice, sprinkle the finished salad with dried chili flakes instead.

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Thank you so much, Giulia! This looks amazing.

P.S. More recipes, including a breakfast salad and a chopped salad.

(Photos and recipe by Giulia Doyle. Thanks to Caroline Donofrio for her help with this series.)