Healthy Diet: Indonesian Chicken Salad

Posted on Mar 22, 2016

Indonesian Chicken Salad

Adapted slightly from the New York Times

When the calendar says it’s spring and the weather gives brief glimpses of warmer days ahead, I start to crave lighter meals. Instead of chicken pot pie or beef stew, I crave salads, smoothies and vegetables of all kinds. It is a spring cleaning, of sorts, for my cooking. I dust off all the heaviness of fall and winter to make way for the fresh favors of the season. This salad is a wake-up call for your palate. It is both spicy and refreshing. Plus it is easy enough to make for a weeknight dinner. I used a store-bought rotisserie chicken but you could easily roast a bone-in, skin-on chicken breast for 40-45 minutes at 375 degrees for the same result.

Ingredients

FOR THE SALAD

1 whole chicken breast, shredded (I bought a rotisserie chicken to make this dish easy)
3-4 scallions, white part and green, thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 small red bell pepper, cut in thin strips
2 cups bean sprouts or sunflower sprouts
1 romaine lettuce heart, leaves separated, washed and dried
¼ cup chopped roasted peanuts (I didn’t have peanuts so I used cashews)

FOR THE DRESSING

¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
3 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced or grated
1 tablespoon Southeast Asian fish sauce
Two squirts of Sriracha
2 tablespoons crunchy or smooth natural peanut butter (more to taste)
⅓ cup buttermilk

Preparation

Place the chicken in a large bowl. Add the white part of the scallions, the mint, cilantro, red pepper, and sprouts. Toss together.
Combine the lime juice, ginger, garlic, fish sauce and Sriracha. Whisk together. Add the peanut butter, and combine well. Whisk in the buttermilk. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Line a platter with the lettuce leaves. Toss the chicken mixture with the dressing, and arrange over the lettuce. Sprinkle the peanuts or cashews and the scallion greens over the top, and serve.

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