Subscribe to get a free eCookbook with our top 25 recipes.

Pinch of Yum

Chopped Thai Chicken Salad

Jump To Recipe • Print Recipe

A salad. Say what? Yes, a salad. A Chopped Thai Chicken Salad.

This is like the 2nd salad I’ve made in the last year. The Philippines is out to get me in the salad department. Conventional wisdom says: it’s hot, make a salad. But reality says, where are the bags of pre-washed baby spinach? and what is this mysterious green thing called again, and how do you peel it? and where is my salad spinner when I need it? and how can I get the fan to blow on ME without blowing my lettuce everywhere? and we’re out of bleach again? Yep. Sound the alarms. I hate it as much as you do, but we eat bleached raw vegetables. We stopped bleaching for a while, I got sick from, uh, something, and we went back to following the bleaching orders.

Peanut, lime, soy, chili and cilantro in a mixing bowl.

For those of you who are curious, bleaching vegetables is a pain in the butt. I get out these two big bowls – one filled with filtered water + 1 tiny spoonful of bleach, and one filled with filtered water for rinsing. Then we soak the vegetables in the bleach water, rinse them, and this is my most blah part: we dry them. The paper towels get all sticky and fall apart all over the vegetables and by this time any kind of minimal effort I’ve put into my hair is gone and my shirt is soaked through with sweat.

IT TAKES FOREVER TO MAKE A SALAD HERE, and I will shout that.

Squeezed limes in a strainer.

PS. Those are calamansis, the cutest and most deliciously sweet and tart citrus fruits native to the Philippines. Think mini-lime, but fresher tasting. I don’t know how that’s possible, but it is.

But bleaching. Good news for me! If we cook the vegetables, we don’t have to bleach them. Remember the millions of {cooked} vegetable curries I’ve made this year? Ahhh. It’s all making sense now.

Don’t be afraid – this isn’t cooked. I went to all that bleaching trouble just for a big crunchy bowl of this:

Thai chicken salad in a mixing bowl.

And it was worth it.

Because when I’m calm and rational, I can remember how much I actually love salads and how it might actually be kind of awesome to eat a cold meal for once in my life.

Thai chicken salad on a white plate.

And this chopped Thai chicken salad was a sweet reunion after all the time away from my beloved fresh green crunchy foods. And by beloved I mean… sort of beloved. Does anyone else have these mixed feelings?

The flavors in this thing just rocked my face off. Lime, peanuts, cilantro, carrots, green onions, vinegar, green papaya, soy sauce, chili pepper, garlic, oiyyyy! It’s all so darn good, the perfect combination of tangy and creamy and super-fresh-crunchy.

Thai chicken salad on a plate.

I wanted this to be a “chopped” salad because I am a big fan of extremely textured foods. The chopped cabbage and grated carrots and green papaya give the perfect base for the “chopped” vibe and are a heckofalot healthier than my current go-to crunchy food, the potato chip. Then the chicken, those crunchy lil’ peanuts (mine were accidentally garlic flavored and SO perfect for this), and the fresh green cilantro and green onions come in and get the party started. Fresh party, coming right up.

Thai chicken salad in a white plate.

I used a green papaya in this because that tangy, spicy, acidic punch of this incredible fruit is just mesmerizing. Except then I picked out a green papaya that wasn’t green, because I don’t know how to pick underripe fruits well? that was still tangy, but yellow.

And then you saw the picture and wondered if I had put cheddar cheese in this salad.

Nope. Thaaat’s a papaya.

On the topic of green papaya, I’m sorry to say that nothing is going to give you the same amount of tangy spiciness as a green papaya except maybe a green mango, and if you don’t have access to green papayas then you probably don’t access to green mango, either. So the best option for you non-tropical friends would just be any crunchy vegetable that you like. I’m thinking raw cucumber, raw zucchini or more cabbage or carrots. The taste will be a little less zingy, but the other vegetables and dressing alone are enough to be totally addicting.

So, yeah.

Thai chicken salad on a white plate.

Ready, set, crunchalicious.

Chopped Thai Chicken Salad

★★★★★ 4.9 from 49 reviews
  • Author: Pinch of Yum
  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6
Print Recipe

Description

This simple chopped Thai chicken salad has incredible flavors – peanut, lime, soy, chili, cilantro. Topped with a homemade dressing. Healthy and fresh.

Ingredients

Salad

  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 small head green or white cabbage (2 cups shredded)
  • 1 large carrot (1 1/2 cups shredded)
  • 1 green papaya (1 1/2 cups shredded)
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 cup green onions
  • 1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Dressing

  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 3 bird’s eye chili peppers (sub 1/2 teaspoon minced hot pepper)
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup water

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the chicken breasts, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes. When the chicken is done, remove from heat, drain water, let cool, and shred with two forks.
  2. Chop the cabbage into very thin pieces, like it would be for coleslaw. I did this by rolling up several leaves together and making thin vertical slices across the roll and then chopping them once horizontally. Peel and grate the carrots. Cut off the skin, remove the seeds, and grate the papaya. Roughly chop the cilantro and green onions. Toss the chicken and vegetables in a large bowl and keep chilled.
  3. Mince the garlic and chili peppers. Place garlic and peppers in a small mixing bowl with the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, lime juice, oil, and fish sauce. Whisk until smooth. Add the peanut butter and water and whisk again until smooth and creamy.
  4. Toss the salad with the dressing. Add the crushed peanuts. Serve chilled. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to one day. For best results, keep the leftover salad and dressing separate until ready to serve.

Notes

Nutrition information is for 6 servings.

Recipe Card powered by

Leave a comment

★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

208 Comments

    • Just posting here, as this comment is near top. Tap water contains chlorine. Chlorine is bleach. Just wash bagged precut & all produce. People have found insects, live frogs & other goodies in the packages of fresh veggies. A salad spinner helps for drying & if can’t find it use a tea towel & swing it over the tub. 🙂

      Reply

    • LOL! We washed our veggies while we were in Honduras on a mission trip. Now I kinda get nostalgic when I smell bleach!

      ★★★★★

      Reply

  4. This salad looks delicious – you might have even convinced me to go through the painful bleaching process to make it here in Guatemala too. (and you described it so well – the drying part is the worst!)

    Reply

  7. Oh wow, I had no idea you had to bleach veggies. It’s ok, it’s safe. Chemicals are only toxic in large quantities. The dose is your poison. (I work with chemicals daily). Just wanted to put your mind at ease.
    Well, when you get back to the states, I know the first thing you’ll be making! Are you living without A/C too? Because I’ve found after living abroad, the thing is to completely cut yourself off from A/C. Even if you have the chance for a minute, refuse. Your body adjusts.

    Anyway, gorgeous salad!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • You may want to edit out/rephrase that chemicals statement to not mislead people. (I’d be afraid to work with you in a lab or similar otherwise!). Rather, every chemical can be toxic/lethal in the right dose within a defined duration (acute vs.chronic)…NOT chemicals are toxiconly* in “large quantities!” Say, even possibly true with drinking MASSIVE amounts of water (can displace sodium…not to freak out others! OD has happened, but is RARE!)…but TTX, anthrax, etc.? Yeah, specks or a pinch can “off” ya!

      On a positive note (to the author)-this recipe looks great, with a nice blend of textures and flavors! (‘Like the papaya idea too!) Just for my sake, I’m going to try to sub’ peanuts/PB for a tad healthier opt w/almond slivers & almond butter + add cucumbers! Thanks! ;D

      ★★★★★

      Reply

      • Hi Versa, Thanks for your comments about this Thai chicken salad recipe that I found on pinterest. I was wondering if you tried this recipe using the almond butter and almonds instead of peanut butter. I’d like to try it but almond butter at about $10 a pound makes it risky to substitute and find out it wasn’t a good substitute! with the miles and miles of dead nut trees in California due to cutting the farmers’ water off, we won’t have nuts at all soon. Sure would appreciate your response! this looks like a great recipe that I’d love to try. Thanks, Again!

        Reply

        • Hi, Debra! I think using almond butter and almonds would definitely be a safe substitute here. Obviously the taste will be a bit different, but the texture and overall salad should come together close to the original.

          Reply

        • OOOOOOOO!!!!!!BABY! I took the risk and I substituted the freshly ground almond butter for the peanuts. It is smashingly delish! I also used Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (which is a non fermented, non-GMO vegetable protein from soy beans and purified water. It has only about 160 mg. of sodium in comparison to the 539 mg. in other soy sauce products! and just as flavorful). I also used Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar and Ahuacatlan avocado oil. Delicious AND nutritious… can’t get better than that! For me the most important qualification for a 5 star recipe is that it must first be nutritious! It’s easy to make things taste good. The challenge is to make the dish healthy AND taste good! lol. Thank you, Pinchofyum! you rock!

          ★★★★★

          Reply

  8. When you said bleach salad, my first thought was “Huh, must be a new hipster-healthyblogger technique”. Thankfully (for the rest of us) it’s not! So much effort you put into this dish and it looks so beautifully simple.

    Reply

  9. This salad looks like it was worth the work. You truly made me appreciate how convenient our food here in the US is.

    I’m totally craving this!!

    Reply

  10. This salad looks amazing! I have been on a bit of a salad kick recently and I will definitely be making this one soon. I also now appreciate the luxury of raw veggies much more after hearing your bleaching story. Yikes!

    I can imagine putting this peanut dressing on more than just this salad, it sounds incredible.

    Reply

  11. Well I love this salad. Thai is my favorite. So happy you took the time to bleach your veggies! What a serious pain. I can not believe you have to put bleach on you food!! Crazy!

    Reply

  15. Wow – this salad looks SO tasty! 🙂

    And I can’t imagine how much work that must be to bleach everything. Definitely brings a new appreciation to fresh salads and produce over here. Looks like all of the work was worth it for this yummy recipe though!

    Reply

  18. I absolutely love salads for lunch. I tend to throw all sorts of crazy things into the mix but never have I tried adding fresh fruit. I love peanut sauces as well.

    Quick question about the dressing, think I could leave out the fish sauce or do you have suggestions for a vegan substitute flavor-wise?

    Reply

  19. Growing up in the Phils, I don’t have any idea what bleaching is. :p Anyway, this Thai salad when cooked (and adding rice sticks noodles) actually turns into ‘Pancit’ when cooked. 🙂 you probably already know that. 🙂

    Reply

  23. I so glad you did go through all that trouble this salad looks amazing. I love calamansis, I can find them in chinatown (here in Honolulu) and I got some to experiment with a while ago and I loved them, then I had to search the internet to find out what they were. I can’t wait to try this recipe.

    Reply

how’s this for awesome?

Get all of my best recipes sent to you for FREE!

Sign up to receive a free eCookbook with my top 25 most popular recipes.