Have you ever tried a Chinese-style chicken salad? It’s very simple making use of some leftover cooked chicken in the fridge and making your dressing sauce.
This recipe may not sounds that exciting but hopefully the dressing will make up for a tantalising experience mouthing this room-temperature salad. I like to make this salad when I have some leftover chicken and want to eat something different other than making a chicken sandwich with the leftover. I usually have some leftover cooked chicken whenever I poached a whole chicken. I know. “Poached” chicken? Poaching a whole chicken is probably not something that comes to your mind if you grew up in the western world. It sounds almost foreign and strange and unappetising. It is not the same or as exciting as roasting a whole chicken or deep-frying the chicken. But, in Chinese culture, poaching a whole chicken is common and almost a tradition and healthy. The by-product from poaching a whole chicken can be used to make few other dishes – such as a salad like this recipe or use the broth and chicken in rice porridge, or save the broth in small portions as a homemade chicken stock for later use.
Poached chicken by itself is a bit plain and boring looking. It needs some kind of sauce and colours to go with it. This recipe is a traditional Chinese recipe with a bit of my twist. The most important ingredient in making the dressing sauce, which may be difficult to find depending on where you live is a sesame paste. It comes in a jar. A good substitute if you don’t have it is to use peanut butter or Tahini. The other important ingredient is chilli paste oil because this Chinese dressing sauce is creamy, aromatic and pungently spicy. The chilli paste brand that I use, which is the most popular chilli oil brand, is “Lau Gan Ma” from China.
I have my written recipe below. You can also catch up on my video here.
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Chinese chicken salad
Credit: penanginsights.com
Ingredients
- leftover poached chicken
- 1 spring onion (or scallion) for garnishing
- 1 long red chilli for garnishing
- 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seed for garnishing
- 1 cucumber
- 2 tablespoons sesame paste (or peanut butter or tahini)
- 1 tablespoon light soy
- 1 tablespoon Chinkiang black vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chilli oil
- 1 teaspoon Lao Gan Ma chilli paste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Directions
- Cut the spring onion into small pieces. Set aside
- Slice the red chilli lengthwise. Discard the seeds and seed membrane. Then cut into small pieces. Set aside
- Slice the cucumber diagonally. Then stack up 3-4 pieces and slice thinly. Set aside
- Shred the chicken using a knife or both hands. I like using a combination of leg, thigh, breast and skin but this is optional. Set aside
- In a small bowl, make the dressing sauce by combining 2 tablespoons sesame paste, 1 tablespoon light soy, 1 tablespoon Chinkiang black vinegar, 1 tablespoon chilli oil, 1 teaspoon Lau Gan Ma chilli paste, 1 teaspoon sugar. Mix through. If it looks too thick, add a bit of water to slightly dilute the dressing sauce
- In a serving platter, first place the sliced cucumber as the first layer. Then add the shredded chicken as the second layer on top of cucumber. Dress the sauce over the chicken. Then sprinkle and garnish with chopped spring onion, red chilli and toasted sesame seeds
- Ready to serve. Accompany well with cooked vermicelli noodle at room temperature
Love the sesame seed garnish!
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Thanks 😊
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