What I love about Big Thai Chicken Salad
This Big Thai Chicken Salad has definitely been a favourite of ours lately! The flavours are so good and it’s loaded with protein and veggies. It’s a meal that you can feel good about.
The salad is made up of savoy cabbage, baby spinach leaves, julienned carrots and lots of fresh herbs. I love the textures and crunch of this salad. And, of course the creamy peanut dressing totally makes it! Its the perfect lunch or light dinner for when you’re feeling like something fresh and healthy. It’s totally gluten-free and low-carb too which I love.
For the chicken, I highly recommend using boneless, skin-ON chicken breasts. Because the breasts are first seared in a cast iron pan, you have the opportunity to crisp up that skin really nicely. You can definitely use boneless, skinless breasts in a pinch (as the photos show).
Finally, the chicken breasts are finished off in the oven to fully cook through. The glaze adds such good flavour and cooks along with the breasts to create a sort of sticky and sweet sauce. All the flavours work so well together. It’s a favourite recipe for sure!
What you will need to make Big Thai Chicken Salad
Here’s a list of ingredients that you will need:
- Spinach – I recommend using baby spinach simply for the reason that it’s easier to eat!
- Savoy cabbage – You can use green cabbage instead, just be sure to slice it really thin! Using a mandolin can help with this.
- Carrots – You will need to julienne the carrots. Don’t know what julienned means? Basically they’re cut into 1″ long thin matchsticks.
- Herbs – You will need fresh Thai basil (not Italian basil) and fresh cilantro for this salad. The fresh herbs really make it super delicious and nutritious too; fresh herbs have so many health benefits!
- Chicken breast – You will need two boneless skinless (organic) chicken breasts for this big salad. I try to encourage you all to buy organic chicken for health reasons because I care about YOU! Most conventional chickens are raised in cages, given antibiotics and fed genetically modified grains. I say, “no thank you!”
- Salad ingredients – You will also need a handful of items for the dressing including creamy natural peanut butter, limes, chilli garlic sauce, garlic cloves, honey, sesame oil and coconut aminos or gluten-free tamari.
Big Thai Chicken Salad
Equipment
- 1 Cast Iron or Oven-safe Skillet
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 4 cups organic baby spinach leaves tightly packed
- 4 cups savoy cabbage washed, thinly sliced
- 2 cups carrots peeled and julienned
- 1/3 cup thai basil leaves washed, thinly sliced or finely chopped
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro washed, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup peanuts chopped, for serving
For the dressing:
- 3 tbsp smooth natural peanut butter
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 tbsp organic tamari
- 1 tbsp chilli garlic sauce
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
For the chicken:
- 2 organic boneless, skin-ON chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp chilli garlic sauce
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
For the salad:
- Add the spinach, cabbage, carrots, thai basil and cilantro to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Then make the dressing: in a small mixing bowl, add the peanut butter, sesame oil, honey, garlic, lime juice, soy seasoning, chilli garlic sauce, salt and cracked pepper and whisk until smooth and fully combined.
- Add the dressing to the salad and mix well until the vegetables are saturated and wilted. Set aside.
For the chicken:
- Make the glaze: in a small bowl, add the sesame oil, honey, garlic, lime juice, chilli garlic sauce and whisk until combined.
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Heat a cast iron pan on medium-high heat and add the avocado oil.
- Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Once the pan is hot, add the chicken breasts skin-side down and sear about 2-3 minutes or until golden and crispy. Flip and repeat.
- Flip the chicken breasts back to skin-side down and drizzle the glaze all over both breasts. Put the pan into the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until a thermometer reads 165F.
- Remove the pan from the oven and baste the breasts with the remaining glaze and juices in the pan. Remove the breasts to a plate to rest for 2-3 minutes.
- Slice the chicken into slices, plate the salad and add the sliced chicken on top of the salad.
- Garnish with chopped peanuts and enjoy!
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