The picnic season is now upon us. And that means toting cold salads in the cooler to the local park, a favorite campground, or to the neighbor’s for a backyard get-together. This Chinese Chicken Salad would be a top contender in our family for any of these outings.
I’ve been mixing up this salad for a number of years, but I’m usually not the one who suggests it be made. More often than not, it’s my husband or oldest daughter who asks, “Hasn’t it been awhile since we’ve had Chinese Chicken Salad?”
Every time I make this, it looks a bit different. My family prefers it be made with green beans, but I also like to change it up with asparagus or sugar snap peas. Sometimes I add an extra sweet bell pepper, using a colorful mix of one red, one green, and one yellow. Other times I just feel like a couple of red ones. And shelled edamame beans are a lovely addition, too. There’s just so much you can do to tailor this salad to whatever you have on hand or are craving.
Chinese Chicken Salad
(print recipe)
6 large chicken breasts
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. green beans, asparagus, or sugar snap peas – ends removed, cut into 1″ to 2″ pieces
2 sweet bell peppers – red, green, yellow, or orange – cored, seeded, and sliced into 1″ to 2″ pieces
1 10-oz. bag shredded carrots, or a couple peeled carrots that are thinly sliced
4 green onions (white and green parts), sliced thinly on the diagonal
2 T. white sesame seeds, toasted
for the dressing:
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1/3 c. soy sauce
2 T. dark sesame oil
3 T. honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1 T. white sesame seeds, toasted
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
First, prepare your chicken. Depending on what I’m in the mood for, I’ll either roast or grill the chicken breasts. Whatever you choose to do, first rub some olive oil onto your chicken breasts and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. If roasting, place the chicken on a sheet pan covered in foil (easy clean-up!) and place in a 350° oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until chicken is just cooked. If grilling, place on a medium-high grill and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until chicken is done. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then shred the chicken by using two forks to pull apart into bite-sized pieces.
While the chicken is cooking, blanch the green beans in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes, until crisp-tender. Immediately place them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain.
If you don’t have some toasted sesame seeds on hand, toast some now. Do this by placing the 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds (2 T. sprinkled over the finished salad, plus 1 T. in the dressing) in a dry saute pan. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until they are nicely browned and fragrant. Remove to a plate to cool.
Combine the shredded chicken, green beans, peppers, and shredded carrots in a large bowl.
Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Gently combine. Sprinkle the green onions and 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds over the top and season to taste. I always add some freshly cracked pepper over the top. I prefer to serve it cold, but it’s also just fine at room temperature.
Servings: 12
Source: adapted quite a bit from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Parties!
Here are a couple more picnic-worthy salads for a tasty summer!
Turkey and Wild Rice Curry Salad
I’m linking up with the following:
Cheryl at TidyMom for I’m Lovin’ It (My Favorite Hair Products)
Kim at Recipes to Run On for her Linky Party (Huevos Rancheros)
Robyn at Add a Pinch for Mingle Monday (I Made That)
Rachel at A Southern Fairytale for Mouthwatering Monday (Delicious Bites)
That sounds like MY kind of chicken salad! *delish*
Ooh, this summer salad sounds wonderful, I love how adaptable it is. Perfect picnic food!
Amy P. recently posted..The cow says moo
Definitely my kind of salad! Perfect for a hot summer night –yum!
Laurie Jesch-Kulseth @ Relishing It recently posted..Kale and Ricotta Tart
I love the look of this chicken salad and will make it over the summer. I think I’d like some broccoli thrown in with it and I know it would be a great addition to a summer pot luck! Thanks for posting!
I adore Ina’s recipes. They are always fabulous!!! I love that you put green beans in this. Love your photos!
Kathleen recently posted..Thai Style Beef Salad
Thanks much, Kathleen!
I love everything from Ina Garten! And Barefoot Contessa Parties is my favorite. This recipe looks fantastic!! I can’t wait to try it!
Star Hughes Living
It’s always so nice to hear from you, Star – thanks!
This looks lovely and very suitable for picnics! I like the inclusion of the peanut butter in the salad, would be possible to use crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth? I’d leave out the green bell peppers though as I really don’t like the taste of them. I much prefer red and yellow bell peppers
Most definitely, Harriet – crunchy peanut butter would be great in this. And I prefer red bell peppers, too! Nice to hear from you again – thanks!
Brenda, this looks fantastic!
I saw the episode of this recipe from Ina (love her!) and always wanted to try it. But, I find a million recipes I want to try both in books, magazines and TV and then I never get around to trying them. Your version looks fantastic and it’s a must try for me. I’m copying this recipe.
It’s lunch time and I could dig right into this!
Thanks for sharing.
Pam
That recipe sounds wonderful. It is always nice to have a recipe that is requested by the family
I’d love for you to come by and show off your recipe at These Chicks Cooked Recipe Spotlight today. Have a blessed day 
Katie
YUMMY! This looks awesome!!
this sounds fabulous Brenda!!
This is one of my favorite salads, of all time! I like adding cilantro and basil to it too, just for some extra flair
Glad I came across this as a reminder that it’s been a while since I’ve made it, must get on that ASAP!
This looks wonderful! I love the ingredients in the dressing too – so flavourful! Actually, this would be a perfect recipe for my Let’s Do Brunch linky – I can just see it as the star salad of a brunch buffet! Here is a link if you would like to join in – you would be very welcome! http://www.21stcenturyhousewife.com/index/Blog/Entries/2011/6/22_Lets_Do_Brunch.html
I just made this and it was delicious! It’s just my husband and I so I divided the recipe in half. We ate it in a spinach wrap and it was the perfect light lunch! Thanks for sharing!
That’s wonderful! Thank you so much for letting me know. Have a great weekend!
This looks truly incredible!!!!
hey love this recipe, but I am cooking for a kid who is allergic to peanuts any suggestions on how to replace the peanut butter?
Hello Danica! Can you use other nut butters? That’s what I would try first, if you’re able. Tahini would probably also work. Or take a look at this recipe: http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/2012/02/29/asian-chicken-salad-lettuce-wraps/ – maybe this dressing would work for you? Please let me know what you do!
Hi,
Love how this recipe looks and sounds. We do a lovely Peanut sauce to make “Cold Sesame Noodles”. I am thinking I would love to make this sauce with a lot less oil, as the CSN’s only have a tiny amount of sesame oil, and the recipe is very similar. The CSN recipe calls for (boiling) water for most of it’s liquid. Have you ever tried using less oil or taking it out completely? or would you consider it? Just wondering how it would be, compared to how it is as you make it. Maybe I will have to experiment and get back to you on this :- )
Thanks,
MarLa
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