Asian Chicken Salad with Sesame Chili Vinaigrette Recipe - Pinch of Yum
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Asian Chicken Salad with Sesame Chili Vinaigrette

5 reviews / 5 average
Asian chicken salad topped with sesame chili vinaigrette.

That one time I put Sesame Chili Vinaigrette on every food I ate ever? Best thing ever.

But can I tell you what’s actually consuming my mind right now?

It’s that I hate bad lunches. Today I ate this horrible tasting, horribly colored, overpriced boxed lentil soup from a health food store. Don’t feel bad for me – it was an American-brand-name-impulse-buy after a few too many scoops of ice cream.

Hey, did I already mention both of my lunch oranges were also devoid of any juice? Crispy oranges are not something that bring out the best in me.

And then there’s this beautiful, filling salad.

Lunch yesterday is a much happier memory. It involved me losing myself in the sweet and spicy happiness of this asian chicken salad. Words started to fade, vision started to go blurry, and I couldn’t even carry on a conversation. When the fork could no longer pick up the last bits of dressing-soaked carrots and peanuts, I picked them up with my finger. And felt okay about it.

By the way, there’s no better way to let people know you’re out of your mind than being a non-conversational salad remnant picker. Totally normal.

Asian chicken salad on a plate with a fork.

So I had it again for lunch, and I then I had again for dinner, and, um, again for (whispering voice) breakfast.

You heard me – I had a salad for breakfast. It’s probably like I’m sick or something, you know, from the water. Because that’s really not what regular people do.

But I woke up and just NEEDED that sweet and spicy Sesame Chili Vinaigrette in my mouth.

Speaking of need, I didn’t even have coffee this morning. This really is a loser food day.

Let’s make more Sesame Chili Vinaigrette.

I mean, Asian Chicken Salad. I mean, yeah.

Asian chicken salad on a plate with a fork.
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Asian Chicken Salad

Asian Chicken Salad with Sesame Chili Vinaigrette


Description

This Asian chicken salad has chicken, lots of veggies, and is topped with a seriously addicting homemade sesame chili vinaigrette.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 rotisserie chicken, meat pulled off and shredded
  • 2 small heads Chinese green cabbage, shredded
  • 2 cups frozen peas
  • 2 large carrots, shredded
  • 2 cucumbers, diced
  • 1/2 cup chopped green onion
  • 1/2 cup sweet chili garlic sauce
  • 6 tablespoons honey
  • 5 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 3 tablespoons vinegar
  • 4 tablespoons lime juice (I used calamansi – yum)
  • 2 teaspoons wasabi paste
  • crushed peanuts for topping

Instructions

  1. Cook the peas according to directions. Drain and let cool slightly.
  2. Combine chicken, cabbage, peas, carrots, cucumbers, and green onions. Toss to combine. Cover and chill for an hour.
  3. Whisk the chili sauce, honey, oil, vinegar, lime juice, and wasabi paste until well mixed. Chill for an hour.
  4. Pour dressing over salad and toss well. Sprinkle each serving with crushed peanuts.

Notes

I like to chill this salad so it’s nice and cold, but you wouldn’t have to chill it for an hour if you were really hungry. 🙂

Also, the dressing is totally personal preference as far as measurements go. Omit the wasabi if you don’t like it spicy, bump up the vinegar or lime juice if you want it to be more acidic, etc.

  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Cook Time: 5 mins
  • Category: Lunch
  • Cuisine: Asian

Keywords: asian chicken salad, chicken salad recipe, sesame chili vinaigrette

Hey. Have a happy lunch.

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44 Comments

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Both!! The limes are calamansis, which are teeny tiny. But the carrot is huge too. 🙂 Welcome to the Philippines!

  1. Pinch of Yum Logo

    That salad looks beautiful! And I love that flavor combination… yummm.

    (Just saw your post on FB about the earthquake– and my friends in Japan are all posting about little earthquakes there, too– hope all is well!)

  2. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Hey…eating with your hands isn’t COMPLETELY a faux pas in the Philippines…so you’re fine!

    This recipe looks like it makes a lot, but I’ll have to grab some cabbage before I head home. Yum!

  3. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a salad for breakfast! In fact, all the restaurants in Brooklyn seem to serve side salads with their entire brunch menu. This salad sounds pretty perfect to me–fresh and crisp and spicy!

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Seriously, my condolences for your lunch. I know how you feel!! But it’s a long weekend and I’m sure you have something yummy planned?! Like a salad with Sesame Chili Vinaigrette? 🙂

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Hahaha – yes – they are giant! It’s one of the few vegetables that I can consistently count on being available, in good quality, at the store. 🙂

  4. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Looks fantastic. Now I have to make both this dressing and one that won’t set the kids on fire 🙂

  5. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Oh my gosh this sounds sooooo good. My family would love. I love a meal I make and I want to eat for every single meal! Success I say. 🙂 as always beautiful pics – love all the stuff in second photo with writing on the table…cool.

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Thanks! I adore this table. I bought it at the market from a man who wasn’t selling it… I just made him an offer and he sold it to me! 🙂 I’m already trying to think of crafty ways to get it back to the states! 🙂

  6. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Asian chicken salad is totally the way to go, mostly because the sweet dressing is bomb and everything else is just so good with it. And I’m in love with your addition of wasabi paste (We’re total wasabi nuts in my family). I can’t get over the fact that you ate salad for breakfast though. Seriously?! 😀

  7. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Wow, you use a lot of wasabi, I don’t think I am that game. The salad looks really good for the first day of spring.

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      I added a little, tasted, and kept adding until I felt like it was just the right amount of spicy. My husband actually couldn’t even taste the wasabi. It depends on your own tastes but also the spiciness of your wasabi paste. Some pastes are spicier than others depending on the quality. 🙂

  8. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I get so sad when I have a bad lunch:( it seriously makes or breaks my day! My husband thinks I’m nuts;)

  9. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This sounds fantastic! I just made a spicy salad as well (with Korean chili paste) that I wanted to eat 3 meals a day of! I love wasabi…will definitely try this! 🙂

  10. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This sounds awesome but I have never used sweet chili garlic sauce–where can I find? Do you have a brand name? I have seen chili paste but not sweet garlic. And I may sub edamame for the peas

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      This brand calls it just “Sweet Chili Sauce”. I’m pretty sure this brand, or something comparable, is also readily available in the states. And YES for the edamame! That’s actually what I wanted to use but I couldn’t find it here in Cebu. 🙁

  11. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I stumbled upon your website and I forgot how but it did involve fries with a garlic cheese sauce…which means that your blog was forever imprinted in my potato-garlic-cheese loving brain. And if that wasn’t enough, I see food + Philippines (bonus points for Cebu, where most of my family lives/is one of my favorite places EVER), so consider me a forever subscriber to your blog.
    I just wanted to say that it’s inspiring to see you and your husband doing great work in the Philippines. As a 23 year old Filipina with Cebuana roots living in Southern California and doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life at the moment (teach ESL abroad? go back to school? start a blog? become a professional traveling vagabond?), it’s nice to see a bit of home within my Internet routine via your blog. God bless you both!!! P.S. please try the lechon/crispy roasted whole pig because Cebu lechon is THE best.

      1. Pinch of Yum Logo

        I don’t know where you guys are at specifically but my mom (who grew up there) says anywhere in Cebu City is good!

  12. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This salad looks amaaaazing!!! bad thing i live in Colombia and is very hard to find imported products like sweet chili garlic sauce…i am sad now 🙁