Spicy Asian Poached Chicken Salad

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Now these are the kind of homemade Salads that I absolute love. Fresh flavors, crunchy textures, and wonderfully healthy for you. Yep, this Spicy Asian Poached Chicken Salad really hits all of the notes when it comes to a delicious home cooked Salad. The Salad is heavily inspired by Asian cuisine, with ingredients used that are very typical in South East Asian. There’s a kick in this salad with the addition of Red Chili (including the seeds), and that is offset with a beautiful sweet and sour dressing. Overall, the Salad is a light and refreshing meal that’s perfect for lunch or dinner

A good Salad is all about the Dressing, it can bring so much flavor to this dish

What separates good Salads from great Salads is always the dressing. A great Salad dressing is one of the easiest things to make, and can completely transform the meal. The dressing in this Spicy Asian Poached Chicken Salad is one of the simplest to make, and consists of a variety of big flavors that stretch across the flavor spectrum from sweet to sour

Lets start with the spice. It naturally makes sense given this dishes name is a Spicy Asian Poached Chicken Salad! We understand spice isn’t for everyone, but when it comes to cooking any kind of South East Asian inspired dish, you do need to add a little bit of heat to it

A little bit of spice in a Salad adds so much depth to the dish. It may often come as a little bit of a surprise, which I think further adds to the enjoyment of eating. For this dish you can use any kind of Chili you like, depending on the spice level you’re looking for. We opted for ½ a Red Chili, which turned out to be plenty spicy

The real spice is in the seeds

Now, if you want to amp up the spiciness of the Salad significantly, then we recommend keeping the seeds from the Chili and adding them to the dressing. The seeds of a Red Chili are loaded with heat, so if you like it hot, this is your safe bet. Looking for a milder amount of heat, but still something in there? Then simply remove the Seeds and only use the flesh of the Chili. Easy!

Ingredients that bring the Sweet and Sour to this Salad

Sweet and Sour flavors are a hallmark of South East Asian Cuisine. In most cases, including this one, the sweetness is introduced into a dish through Sugar. You can use any kind of Sugar you like. Brown Sugar and Palm Sugar are very common types of Sugar used in this type of cuisine. You can also just use regular old White Sugar too. It doesn’t matter what Sugar you use, it’ll be sweet!

Sourness is introduced to the dish through three ingredients, Fish Sauce, Lime, and White Vinegar. Be careful when adding all of these three ingredients, as they are all extremely powerful in their own right. We recommend adding the Fish Sauce and Lime first, along with all of the other ingredients in the dressing. Then, add about 1 tsp. of Vinegar at a time and taste as you go

Tasting as you go is always important in cooking, and definitely the case when adding so many powerful ingredients to a dish such as this one. The White Vinegar can overpower a dish quite easily, so tasting it will help to get the right balance of flavors for you

Poaching the Chicken

This is a fun way to prepare Chicken, and surprisingly to us is not as common as it should be. Poaching Chicken is a great way to ensure the Chicken stays beautifully moist and tender. Poaching also allows you to infuse flavors into the Chicken by adding aromatics to the poaching liquid

For this dish we’re using a very simply combination of Fresh Ginger and Garlic. Bring a pot of Water to the boil and then add the Ginger and Garlic, along with the Chicken Breasts. Once all the ingredients are added, immediately turn off the heat. Cover, and allow the Chicken to slowly cook

It will take about 20 minutes for the Chicken to fully cook through. This time may vary depending on the size of the Chicken. Check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer to check if it’s done. Once the internal temperature is 160F, remove the Chicken from the liquid and allow it to cool

Once cooled, shred the Chicken into long strands. This can be done by using two forks (which is a great method if the Chicken is still a bit hot), otherwise just use your hands

This is a dish best served either at room temperature or cold, so preparing the Chicken in advance is the best way to ensure you’re not waiting around, starving, while the Chicken is cooling!

Finishing off this wonderful Salad

The two primarily components of the Salad are the Dressing and the Chicken. Once those are done, the final step is to simply prepare the Vegetables then combine them all into a Salad bowl. We’ve gone for a classic combination of Cabbage, Red Onion, Carrots, Mint, Cilantro, and Scallions

These ingredients are very typical of a Spicy Asian Salad. They all bring beautiful textures, aromas, and flavors to the dish and complement each other quite well

To finish off the dish, grab a handful or so of Peanuts and roughly chop them up with a sharp knife. No need to be uniform, just chop them up a bit and sprinkle over the top of the Salad right before serving. Then enjoy!

Spicy Asian Poached Chicken Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 Large Chicken Breasts
• 3 whole Garlic Cloves, peeled
• 1-inch square piece of Ginger
• ½ Green Cabbage, shredded
• 2 Carrots, peeled and grated
• ½ Red Onion, sliced
• ¼ cup of Mint, chopped
• ¼ cup of Cilantro, chopped
• ½ cup Scallions, chopped
• ¼ cup Peanuts, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
  
  

For the Sweet and Sour Dressing

• 2 tbsp. White Sugar
• 1 tbsp. White Vinegar
• 3 tbsp. Fish Sauce
• Juice of 1 Lime
• 1 tbsp. Water
• ½ Red Chili, finely chopped
• 1 Garlic clove, peeled and finely diced
• ½ tsp. of Salt
  
  

Instructions

1. Place the Chicken Breasts into a large saucepan filled with Boiling Water along with the 3 Garlic Cloves and piece of Ginger. Cover, turn off heat and leave to Poach for 20 minutes until Chicken is cooked (internal temperature of 160F)
2. Once the Chicken is cooked, set aside to cool and then shred into strands, either with two forks or by hand
3. Combine the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside
4. Toss the Cabbage, Carrot, Red Onion, Mint, Cilantro, and Scallions in a large Salad Bowl. Pour over the dressing along with the Olive Oil and mix through well
5. Finish the Salad by sprinkling over the chopped Peanuts and serve along with a wedge of Lime
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can prepare the Chicken in advance and refrigerate it for up to 2 days before serving
• To scale the amount of heat in the dish, either add or remove the Chili seeds. More seeds = more heat!
  
  

Yep, that is all there is with this dish! For how simple it is to create, you’ll be amazed at the deep flavors this Spicy Asian Poached Chicken Salad is able to produce. We highly recommend giving this Salad a try. It’s a perfect light and healthy meal to enjoy all year around

For more delicious Salads, check out our page here. Here’s a few of our favorites that we highly recommend giving a try:

• Cucumber Dill Salad with Mint and Feta
• Spicy Thai Beef Salad
• Tomato and Lentil Salad with Basil and Goats Cheese
• Easy Summer Salads
  
  

Happy Cooking!