Ready to spice up your salad routine? Dive into our zesty Spicy Chicken Salad! Packed with juicy chicken, vibrant veggies, and a kick of spice, this salad is a flavour explosion. Easy to make and bursting with freshness, it's the perfect dish to satisfy your cravings while keeping things light and delicious!
Ingredients for this Spice Chicken Salad:
- Olive oil
- Long red chilli
- Limes
- Brown sugar
- Garlic
- Cumin
- Fresh Coriander leaves
- Chat potatoes
- Chicken breast
- Salt and pepper
- Baby cos lettuce
- Red onion
- Snow peas
- Avocado
- Optional: sour cream
Why we loooove this recipe:
The spicy chicken salad dressing is a delightful mix of flavours. Olive oil adds richness, while red chili brings heat. Limes provide tanginess, balanced by brown sugar. Garlic adds depth, and cumin offers warmth. Fresh coriander ties it all together. It's a perfect blend for mouth-watering chicken every time!
Best potatoes for this zesty chicken salad:
We've used Chat potatoes, but other great options for salads include Yukon Gold, red potatoes, and fingerling potatoes. These varieties are waxy, hold their shape well when boiled, and offer different textures and flavours. Yukon Gold is creamy, red potatoes are slightly firmer with a pop of colour, and fingerlings add a unique shape and buttery flavour. Choose based on your preference and availability.
Kitchen hacks to simplify your life:
- Prep First: Streamline your cooking by prepping all ingredients beforehand—it's the secret to a seamless process.
- Season Along the Way: Add seasoning at every step to enhance flavours of this spicy chicken salad.
- Clean as You Go: Maintain kitchen zen by cleaning up spills and messes as you go—it makes the post-meal clean-up a breeze. Happy cooking!
Spicy Chicken Salad
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Start by prepping your ingredients as per ingredient list, then follow along as we guide you through each section, ensuring a seamless cooking experience and delicious results every time!
First prep, then cook then assemble.
Ingredients
Marinade/Salad Dressing:Â
- ÂĽ cup Olive oil
- 1 Long red chilli, halved and finely chopped
- 4 Limes, zest and juiced
- 1 tsp Brown sugar
- 2 cloves Garlic, peeled and crushed
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- 2 tbs Fresh Coriander leaves, chopped (note)
- 1 tsp Salt
 Salad:
- 8 Chat potatoes, halved
- 2 Chicken breast, cut horizontally into equal pieces (see note 2)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 Baby cos lettuce, leaves separated washed and roughly torn
- ½ Red onion, thinly sliced
- 200g Snow peas, washed and trimmed
- 2 Avocado, cut into cubes
- Optional: sour cream
Instructions
Prep:
Get everything in its place as per ingredient list. Follow all the steps involved in organising and preparing ingredients before cooking, such as chopping and measuring.
Marinade/Salad Dressing:
Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. Transfer half of the mixture to a salad dressing container.
Marinade the Chicken:
Place remaining half of the marinade in a Ziplock bag (re-sealable plastic bag) and add the chicken. Seal the bag and gently massage or shake to ensure the chicken is evenly coated. Allow it to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 min or up to 2 hours.
Boil the potatoes and snow peas:
While the chicken is marinating, place the halved potatoes in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil add a teaspoon of salt. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes until tender (adjust time based on potato size). Check the doneness of the potatoes periodically by testing them with a fork.
To cook the snow peas, add them to the boiling water 1 minute before draining the potatoes. Then, remove the snow peas and drain and rinse them separately to cool them quickly and prevent overcooking.
Drain and rinse potatoes in cold water to stop cooking. (see note 1). Set aside.
Shallow fry the Chicken:
Remove the chicken from the marinade. Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Use the leftover marinade in the bag to brush the chicken during cooking. Discard any unused leftover marinade; do not use it for dressing as it will be contaminated with raw chicken juices.Â
Assemble salad:
Layer the lettuce, potatoes, onions and snow peas in a large shallow salad bowl. Drizzle with half of the salad dressing and toss to combine. Top with cubed avocado and slices of warm chicken breast and drizzle with remaining salad dressing.
Optional: serve with dollop of sour cream and more coriander leaves
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Notes
- To boil potatoes for a salad:
Start by selecting salad potatoes, such as new potatoes or other waxy varieties, and rinse them under cold water to remove any dirt.
Place the potatoes in a saucepan and add enough water to cover them completely.
Add a teaspoon of salt to the water to season the potatoes as they cook.
Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat.
Once the water reaches a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer.
Allow the potatoes to cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until they are tender when pierced with a fork.
Check the doneness of the potatoes periodically by testing them with a fork.
Once the potatoes are cooked, remove them from the heat and drain them in a colander.
Rinse the potatoes under cold water to stop the cooking process and cool them down for the salad.
Once cooled, the boiled salad potatoes are ready to be used in your favorite salad recipe. - To cut a chicken breast into two equal pieces on the flat side without cutting through the middle, follow these steps:
Place the chicken breast on a cutting board with the flat side facing down.
Hold the chicken breast firmly with one hand to stabilize it.
Using a sharp knife, position the blade horizontally along the side of the chicken breast, starting with cutting into the long, thick side.
Carefully slice horizontally through the chicken breast, starting from one side and working your way across to the other side, maintaining an even thickness throughout.
Once you've cut through the chicken breast, you'll have two equal pieces, each with a flat side and a rounded side.
Repeat the process with any remaining chicken breasts.
This technique results in two pieces of chicken that are approximately equal in size and thickness, making them ideal for marinating and cooking evenly.
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 25
