Ginger Chicken Salad Bowl with Spicy Cashews

I truly love salads but it's easy to get stuck in a rut, which is why it's important to try new recipes and flavor combinations to keep things interesting.  Even Asian chicken salad needs a new twist now and then.

This is a really delicious salad, with contrasting textures and spiciness from the chicken and cashews that's offset by the cooling cucumber and sweet dried pineapple.  Before you freak out at the list of ingredients, there are several ways to make the recipe much easier.  You can buy spicy cashews or peanuts or even wasabi peas rather than making spicy cashews, you can buy an Asian sesame vinaigrette rather than making your own, and you can marinate and cook the chicken in advance.  For that matter, you could make the cashews and the vinaigrette in advance too, so then all you need to do on the night you want to serve the salad is chop, toss and plate.  A little advance planning is definitely your friend here.

The chicken is somewhat unusual in that it has a ginger basting sauce that lacquers the chicken as it cooks, in addition to a sesame marinade.

You can make the marinade spicy or not depending on your taste; I liked it slightly spicy (about 8 dashes of Tabasco) to contrast with the cool cucumber and pineapple.  Between the marinade and the baste, the chicken is intensely flavorful to the point that I don't think I would serve it on its own, but it's perfect as part of a salad.  It would also be great in a banh mi or other sandwich with sliced cucumber and maybe some coleslaw with cilantro.  (The first time I had coleslaw actually IN a sandwich was when I was traveling in the south and had a pulled pork sandwich.  The server insisted that I try it with coleslaw even though I thought that was really strange, but now I'm hooked.)

The other important part of the salad is the spicy nuts - again, they're a great contrast to the cucumber and pineapple.  I was going to buy spicy nuts at my local Sprouts but I tasted one and hoo boy were they spicy.  I decided to make my own to control the spice level and found that one tablespoon of Sriracha was plenty for me.

For the salad greens, I bought a green and red lettuce mix at the store and threw in some thinly sliced Napa cabbage for a little more crunch.  As I mentioned you can buy an Asian dressing but the recipe below is really delicious and perfect for the salad.

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Ginger Chicken Salad Bowl with Spicy Cashews

Serves 4

Note that the chicken needs to marinate for 1 – 12 hours so plan ahead.

1 ½ tablespoons toasted sesame oil

¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons soy sauce

1tablespoon hoisin sauce

1 teaspoon black pepper

Hot sauce, to taste

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb)

½ cup salted cashews

1-2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce (depending on preference)

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons minced ginger

12 cups mixed salad greens

¼ cup chopped cilantro

4 green onions, thinly sliced

Asian sesame ginger salad dressing (your favorite brand, or see recipe below)

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup cooked edamame

1 cup dried pineapple, chopped

16 thin slices of cucumber

To marinate the chicken:  whisk together the sesame oil, ¼ cup soy sauce, hoisin sauce, black pepper, and hot sauce if using.  Lightly pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness and add to a large zip top bag, then pour the sauce over and seal.  Refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 12 hours.

Heat oven to 300d.  Combine cashews and Sriracha sauce in a small bowl and stir until nuts are coated.  Line a small baking pan with foil and spread the coated cashews out on it, then place in the oven and bake until nuts are dry, stirring once, approximately 20 minutes.  Remove the nuts from the foil and let cool completely.  Set aside.

For the basting sauce, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons soy sauce, the brown sugar and the ginger in a small bowl, whisking until the sugar has dissolved.

Heat a grill or grill pan to medium.  Remove the chicken from the marinade (discarding the marinade) and cook, turning occasionally, for 8-10 minutes.  Then, using a pastry brush, begin basting with the soy, ginger and brown sugar mixture until they develop a lacquer, an additional 8-10 minutes, again turning every few minutes.  The internal temperature should be 160d when they are done.  Set aside.

To plate the salads, toss the salad greens, cilantro and green onions with just enough dressing to coat lightly, then divide between salad bowls or plates.  Thinly slice the chicken and divide between the salads.  Top each with carrots, edamame, dried pineapple, cucumber slices and spicy cashews.  Serve.

Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette

1 garlic clove, finely minced or grated

1 teaspoon finely minced ginger

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon soy sauce

2-3 teaspoons honey (start with the lower amount)

5 tablespoons canola oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Salt and pepper

To make the vinaigrette, add all ingredients to a small food processor and process until blended.  Taste and adjust honey, salt and pepper as needed.  May be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated in a covered jar.  Shake before using.