Thai Chicken Salad Recipe With Peanut Lime Dressing

Thai chicken salad is one of those dishes that manages to be light and deeply satisfying at the same time. It is built around crunchy shredded cabbage, fresh herbs, crisp vegetables and tender poached chicken, all brought together with a bold peanut and lime dressing that balances sweet, sour, salty and spicy in the way that Thai food does so naturally. It is a salad that actually fills you up and one that tastes far more complex than the effort it requires.

The dressing is the heart of this recipe. It is made from peanut butter, fresh lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, honey and a little chilli and comes together in under five minutes. The key is getting the balance right. It should taste tangy, slightly sweet, savoury and have a gentle heat that builds as you eat. The chicken is poached gently in seasoned water until tender and then shredded while still warm so it absorbs the dressing more readily. Serve immediately for the best texture and flavour.

Thai Chicken Salad Recipe

Serves: 3
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

For the chicken:

  • 400g Boneless Chicken Breast
  • 1 litre water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 to 4 black peppercorns
  • 1 small piece fresh ginger, sliced
  • 1 spring onion stalk

For the peanut lime dressing:

  • 3 tbsp smooth peanut butter
  • 3 tbsp fresh lime juice (approximately 2 limes)
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce (or extra soy sauce)
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 clove garlic, finely grated
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
  • 1 to 2 tsp sriracha or chilli garlic sauce
  • 3 to 4 tbsp warm water to thin

For the salad:

  • 2 cups green cabbage, finely shredded
  • 1 cup red cabbage, finely shredded
  • 1 large carrot, julienned or grated
  • 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 3 spring onions, finely sliced
  • 1 cup fresh coriander leaves
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
  • 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
  • Lime wedges for serving

Steps

  1. Poach the chicken. Place the chicken breasts in a pot with the water, salt, peppercorns, ginger and spring onion stalk. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat then reduce to a low simmer. Cook for 15 to 18 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked through. The internal temperature should reach 75 degrees Celsius. Remove from the pot and leave to rest for 5 minutes. While still warm, shred the chicken into thin strips using two forks. Set aside.
  2. Make the dressing. In a bowl whisk together the peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, honey, sesame oil, garlic and ginger until smooth. Add the sriracha and stir. Add the warm water one tablespoon at a time and whisk until the dressing reaches a pourable consistency. Taste and adjust the balance. It should be tangy, slightly sweet, salty and mildly spiced. Add more lime juice for sourness, honey for sweetness or soy sauce for saltiness.
  3. Prepare the salad. Shred the green and red cabbage as finely as possible. Julienne the carrot and thinly slice the red bell pepper and spring onions. Place everything in a large bowl along with the fresh coriander and mint leaves.
  4. Add the warm shredded chicken to the salad. Pour two thirds of the dressing over the salad and toss everything together thoroughly so every ingredient is well coated.
  5. Taste and add more dressing as needed. Transfer to a serving platter or individual bowls. Scatter the roasted peanuts and sesame seeds over the top. Serve immediately with lime wedges and the remaining dressing on the side.

Tips for Best Results

Shred the chicken while it is still warm. Warm chicken shreds more easily and absorbs the dressing far more readily than cold chicken. Adding the warm chicken directly to the salad also helps wilt the cabbage slightly which makes it easier to eat.

Shred the cabbage as finely as possible. Thick pieces of cabbage are unpleasant to eat in a salad and do not absorb the dressing well. A mandoline or sharp knife and a little patience gives you the fine, delicate shreds that make this salad work.

Taste the dressing before adding it to the salad. Every lime and every batch of peanut butter is slightly different. Always taste the dressing and adjust the balance before tossing. The right dressing should hit all four notes — sour, sweet, salty and spicy — in roughly equal measure.

Add the peanuts and herbs just before serving. Peanuts go soft quickly once dressed and fresh herbs wilt fast. Adding them at the last moment keeps the texture and colour of the salad at its best.

This salad is best eaten immediately. The cabbage releases moisture as it sits which can water down the dressing over time. If making ahead, keep the dressing, peanuts and herbs separate and toss everything together just before serving.

Thai chicken salad is the kind of recipe that earns a permanent place in your rotation the first time you make it. The combination of crunchy vegetables, tender chicken and the bold peanut lime dressing is genuinely addictive and the whole thing comes together faster than most people expect. Once you have the dressing right everything else falls into place naturally.

Order Zorabian’s Boneless Chicken Breast from shop.zorabian.com and try this recipe at home.

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