This sweet and crunchy Asian Chicken Salad with Ginger-Sesame Dressing is deliciously filling, packed full of fresh veggies and has TONS of flavor!
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Have you ever had one of those staple go-to salads that are just SO delicious you can make them each week for lunches and never get sick of them??
Yeah this would be mine.
Maybe it’s the combination of cabbage and cilantro mixed with crunchy carrots, bell peppers and snap peas all tossed in a delicious ginger sesame vinaigrette that has me so completely addicted, but whatever the case, this salad is pretty bangin. I usually like to make a big batch of this dressing to keep on hand in the fridge because, trust me, it’s THAT good, and I even like to marinate the chicken with it to add to the salad! Simply chop up your cabbage, toss all in all your veggies and grill up the chicken. It’s that easy! Really you can add whatever veggies you like, I promise you can’t mess this up. Feel free to add a variation of lettuce such as romaine, kale or spinach so you can get your greens in or you can always just leave it as is. This really is my go-to salad that I love to make during the week for lunches and I always just keep the dressing on hand in my fridge at work. If I don’t plan ahead (I mean let’s be honest) I usually tend to make poor lunch decisions so this makes it easy for me to stay on track during the week AND still have an enjoyable lunch.
Make some homemade KIND bars ahead of time and you’ll have the perfect snack (or M2 all you Tone It Up ladies) for the rest of the week!
I do want to take a moment and share with you my obsession with fresh ginger. Please, please, pleeeeeease do not use boring ground ginger that you can find on any given spice rack in this dressing. Of course that would work too, but the taste will be completely different and the benefits of fresh ginger are really just too good to pass up! Not only is fresh ginger good for your tummy and digestive tract, but it’s also great for your metabolism and, well, it just tastes so dang good! I love using fresh ginger any time I juice and I always add it to my cucumber lemon water with some added mint. Talk about a good detox drink! Oh and I don’t want to hear any complaints about this being too expensive, because ginger is so ridiculously cheap to buy and all you honestly need is a root the size of your thumb. Dig through the bin at your local grocery store and I promise you’ll find any size you’d like!
Ok rant over.
Hope you all enjoy this salad and please let me know what other posts/recipes you’d like to see on the blog! Any inspiration would be much appreciated!!
Asian Chicken Salad with Ginger-Sesame Dressing
Ingredients
- 4 cups napa cabbage, chopped
- 2 cups red cabbage, chopped
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup snap peas
- 1/3 cup baby corn
- 1/3 cup bean sprouts
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 chicken breasts, pounded out
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For the dressing:
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 1/4 tsp. toasted sesame oil
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine cabbage, shredded carrots, snap peas, baby corn, bean sprouts, red bell pepper, green onions and fresh cilantro. Set aside.
- To make the dressing – Using a blender or food processor, combine rice vinegar, soy sauce, garlic clove, honey and fresh ginger and pulse to combine. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream and continue blending until mixture is creamy.
- Using a meat pounder (or empty bottle), pound out the chicken breasts to a uniform thickness. Place chicken breasts in a plastic bag and add 2 tablespoons of the salad dressing. Make sure the chicken is completely coated and allow chicken to marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.
- To make the chicken – Pre-heat a grill pan or an outdoor grill on medium-high heat and add marinated chicken breasts. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and cook chicken about 4 to 5 minutes on each side until juices run clear. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest for 15 minutes before cutting. This keeps them juicy!
- Add cut up chicken to the salad and toss with the dressing OR keep dressing in a jar and distribute salad with chicken to 4 individual containers for lunches that week. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I know this is an old post, but I just found your blog today (so I’m checking out as many recipes as I can). All your recipes look SOOO yummy, and I can’t wait to try them.
Anyway, regarding the fresh ginger: if I don’t have time to use the whole ginger root before it goes bad (if it is like 3-4″ long), I wrap it in paper towel, put that in a ziploc bag, and store it in the freezer. Then i just take it out and grate some whenever I need it (it grates very easily when frozen, too).
Just thought I’d leave the tip for anyone who doesn’t know what to do with extra ginger. 🙂
Wow I LOVE this tip! Thank you so much Maria!! 🙂
Hi Kelly. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe! I ate it for dinner last week and made up some more today with the left over ingredients. My husband, who is not a real salad lover, liked it and said he would it it again. Score! Thanks again! I look forward to sharing other recipes from your site.
Thanks Annette! So glad you and your hubby enjoyed this! 🙂
Hi Kelly
Do you blanche or pre-cook anything or is it all raw?
Thanks 🙂
I like to use all raw veggies, but you could definitely make this to your liking!
Another great post with chicken salad. i will definitely try it once