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5 from 6 votes

Chinese Chicken Salad

This is the best Chinese chicken salad ever. So fresh, with delicious and healthy ingredients. The peanut sauce dressing can be made up to a week ahead of serving. I like to boil the chicken until it reaches 160F degrees internal temperature. This method of preparing the chicken ensures tender chicken. You could also use any leftover cooked chicken (rotisserie leftovers also work well). If your chicken is not already cooked before starting the recipe, this will be more like a 45 minute recipe rather than a 20 minute meal.
Prep Time20 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Main Dish Salad
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 5
Calories: 533kcal
Author: Good Dinner Mom

Ingredients

For the Dressing:

  • ½ cup soy sauce or tamari- tamari is the gluten-free option
  • ½ cup regular peanut butter, not peanut butter that needs stirring
  • ½ cup apple cider vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 cup canola oil, expeller-pressed is health option

Salad Ingredients:

  • 1-10 ounce bag shredded coleslaw mix or 4 cups finely shredded green cabbage
  • ¼ pound snow peas, trimmed and sliced lengthwise or sugar-snap peas removed from pods
  • 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped into ½-inch pieces
  • 1 carrot peeled and then shredded into ribbons with the peeler (or grate with cheese grater)
  • 2 scallions sliced
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
  • 2 oranges, peeled, white pith removed, and cut between the membranes to remove segments
  • ½ cup slivered almonds
  • 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds

Instructions

For the Dressing:

  • In a blender, process ½ cup soy sauce (or tamari), ½ cup peanut butter, ½ cup vinegar, 2 chopped garlic, 2 Tablespoons fresh ginger, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper until combined. Add 2 Tablespoons sesame oil and 1 cup canola oil and blended until smooth.

For the Salad:

  • In a large bowl, toss together 10 ounces coleslaw mix, ¼ pound snow peas, 1 cucumber, 1 carrots, 2 scallions and 2 Tablespoons parsley.
  • Add about ½ cup of the dressing and toss to combine.
  • Transfer to a serving platter. Top with 3 cups chicken, 2 oranges, ½ cup almonds and 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds.
  • Drizzle with extra dressing and serve or serve with the dressing to pass around the table.
  • tip: Make the dressing ahead of time, up to several days, and keep in air-tight container in the fridge until ready to assemble.
  • Tip: My best chicken option is to boil 5 half breasts until internal temperature measures 160F degrees. Let cool and then shred. (Bring water to boil before adding the chicken)
  • Tip: If you desire and have time, toast the almond slices and the sesame seeds for even better flavor. This is nice but not critical.
  • Tip: Using sugar-snap peas when they're in season is fabulous for a nice flavor and pretty presentation, so I highly recommend this option. Other options besides the snow peas are using fresh from frozen petite peas, or edamame.

Nutrition

Calories: 533kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 2140mg | Potassium: 921mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 2715IU | Vitamin C: 70.4mg | Calcium: 162mg | Iron: 3.5mg