An Asian salad is one of those that’s always interesting and fun to order at a restaurant. Now you can make it at home too :). It has sesame seed-crusted chicken and a delicious and intensely-flavoured dressing.
I love how the chicken looks with the sesame seed crust around it. They stick to the chicken breast by pressing them on; they stick to the moisture on the chicken piece. Then you need to be careful not to move it around in the pan until it’s time to flip it and in this way, the seeds won’t get released. The end result is delicious, crispy and perfect for this and other salads as well. Also, it doesn’t take long to make! It’s much better than a regular pan-fried chicken for sure :). Alternatively, you can also make this salad with a tuna tataki instead of chicken. If you like salads with animal protein you might also want to check out my roast beef salad.
The other thing that’s spectacular about this Asian salad is its dressing. It’s really tasty and full of flavours with garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil. The result is a thick dressing that’s perfect for all the ingredients in this salad. If you want to see more salad recipes you can always head over to my salads section. To this salad, you could also add extras such as fried wonton strips, fried rice noodles, cashews, radishes, etc. As always, the idea is that you use ingredients that you have at home for your salads.
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 1 chicken breast no skin on
- 4 tbsp sesame seeds ideally untoasted
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil for cooking
For the salad
- 120 g romaine lettuce
- 60 g red cabbage
- 40 g soy sprouts
- 30 g julienned or grated carrots
- 30 g toasted peanuts
For the dressing
- 1 garlic clove finely grated
- 10 g peeled and grated ginger
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
For the chicken
- Place baking paper over the chicken breast and give it gentle smacks with a rolling pin to flatten it out. Then divide the breast in two lengthwise so that it's not that big.
- Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and then press the sesame seeds on both sides to make them stick.
- Preheat a pan to medium heat and add olive oil. Cook the chicken for 3 minutes on each side or until it's fully cooked but still juicy. When you place the chicken on the pan, don't move it around until it's time to flip it to prevent the seeds from unsticking.
- Give it at least 5 minutes before slicing it to that the juices don't ooze out.
For the salad
- Place all the ingredients on a dish or bowl and finish with the chicken slices on top.
For the dressing
- Use a pestle and mortar to grind up the ginger and garlic together. It helps to add a pinch of salt. Alternatively, you can use the side of a knife to press them onto the chopping board.
- Mix the garlic and ginger with the honey, salt, pepper, rice vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil using a whisk.
- Add the olive oil in a drizzle while mixing constantly with the whisk.
