Asian Chicken Salad With a Sesame-Ginger Dressing That Does the Talking

It is 12:20 on a Wednesday, the second chair at the table is finally taken, and you want a lunch that looks like you tried a little. This asian chicken salad recipe serves two, with 12 minutes of prep and one skillet for the chicken, and it comes across as far more effort than it was. It is the kind of lunch you cook for someone and let them assume you do this all the time.

Golden chicken, cold crunchy cabbage, and a dressing that is sweet, salty and sharp at once.

You slice chicken breast into thin strips, season them, and cook them in a skillet while you shred the napa cabbage and whisk the dressing: rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, fresh ginger, and the juice of a lime. Mandarin oranges and crunchy wonton strips go on top, and sesame seeds finish it. Everything is cold and crisp except the chicken, which is the whole point.

How to make it

1. Slice the 12 oz chicken breast into thin strips and season with salt and black pepper. Shred the 0.5 head napa cabbage, slice the 3 scallions, and grate the 1 tsp fresh ginger. Drain the 11 oz can mandarin oranges.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and cook the seasoned chicken strips 5 to 6 minutes per side until golden and cooked through. Remove and set aside.
3. Whisk together the 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp honey, grated ginger, and juice from the 1 lime to make the dressing.
4. Toss the shredded napa cabbage with half the dressing in a large bowl.
5. Divide the cabbage between two plates. Top each with the cooked chicken strips, drained mandarin oranges, and 0.5 cups wonton strips.
6. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the salads and sprinkle with the 1 tbsp sesame seeds.

Notes

Cooked leftovers keep three to four days refrigerated, per USDA FSIS, but a dressed salad does not hold its crunch. Store the chicken, the cabbage, the wonton strips, and the dressing separately, and assemble when you are ready to eat. The dressing keeps well in a jar and will separate, so shake it before you pour.

The cooked chicken is fine to eat cold or reheated gently in a skillet. The salad as a whole does not freeze, but the cooked chicken strips do if you wrap them well.

Napa cabbage is tender and sweet, so it wilts once dressed. If you are packing this for a lunch at your desk, keep the dressing in a small container and add it right before you eat.

If you are choosing between a date and a desk salad, this one is built for both. Swipe it for a lunch for two, and the agent shops it as a cart for two: half a head of napa, one can of mandarins, no half-empty bottles of dressing you will never use up.

Swaps that actually work

The point of any asian chicken salad recipe is the dressing. The sesame-ginger-lime combination is what ties the sweet mandarins, the crunchy wontons and the plain chicken into one salad. Keep it, taste it before it touches the cabbage, and adjust it. A spoon of dressing on a piece of cabbage tells you more than the spoon alone, so taste it that way. Add more honey if it bites, more vinegar if it is sweet, and a little more lime if it seems heavy.

You can use either 12 oz of chicken breast or 12 oz of rotisserie chicken. For a no-cook version, shred the rotisserie chicken in place of the cooked strips and skip the skillet. If you cook the chicken, the safe minimum internal temperature is 165°F per USDA, and the thin slices cook through quickly. Napa cabbage can be swapped for a bag of coleslaw mix or shredded green cabbage, though the texture is a little firmer. Canned mandarins should be drained well, or the dressing waters down.

Wonton strips are what give it crunch, and if you cannot find them, crushed ramen noodles, chow mein noodles, or a handful of crushed tortilla chips do the same job. Honey can be maple syrup. Rice vinegar can be lime or lemon juice with a tiny pinch of sugar, though the flavor changes a little. Scallions are optional here, since the method does not garnish with them, but if you have some, scatter them over the top with the sesame seeds. Swipe right on a bag of coleslaw mix and the agent will not ask why you skipped the cabbage.

The swap that costs you the dish is skipping the fresh ginger. Ground ginger is a different flavor, and the dressing relies on the sharp, bright bite of the fresh kind.

If it goes wrong

The salad is soggy. The cabbage sat in dressing too long, or the mandarins were not drained. Dress only half, drain the oranges on a paper towel, and add the wonton strips at the last second. If it is already soggy, add a fresh handful of cabbage and a few more wonton strips to bring back the crunch.

The chicken is dry. It cooked too long or the slices were too thick. Cut the strips thin and even, cook until the juices run clear and the inside is no longer pink, and take it off the heat right away. If it is already dry, slice it smaller and toss it with a little extra dressing.

The dressing is too sharp or too sweet. Rice vinegar and honey need to balance, and like most good pairings, neither one should do all the talking. If it bites, whisk in a little more honey. If it is sweet, add a splash of rice vinegar or a squeeze more lime. Taste a piece of cabbage dipped in it, not the dressing alone.

It tastes flat. Most often it needs salt. A splash more soy sauce fixes it, and a pinch of salt on the cabbage does too.

What to serve with it

This asian chicken salad recipe makes a full lunch for two. For something more, add a small bowl of miso soup or a few steamed dumplings from the freezer aisle. A cold sparkling water with lime keeps it light, and a plate of cucumber slices with a little salt works if you want one more crunchy thing.

It works as lunch the next day if you keep the parts separate. Pack the undressed cabbage and the chicken in different containers, and put the wontons in a bag. Combine them at your desk.

Why this one earns its place

A good lunch salad is hard to find because many of them are a bowl of lettuce with regret in it. This asian chicken salad recipe has texture in every bite: crunchy, soft, sweet, salty, bright. It also asks very little, since most of the work is whisking and slicing.

Swipe it right when the week calls for something light that still counts as a meal. For more in the same family, try the PF Chang-style lettuce wraps, the Panda-style sesame chicken, or the high-protein chicken wrap when you want it in your hand instead of a bowl.

More like this: all American recipes in Crave Corner.