Description
A main course salad for leftover chicken - lettuce, cucumber, red onion, rice noodles and shredded chicken in a sweet-tart lime dressing, topped with herbs and peanuts.
Ingredients
Dressing
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (from 1 lime)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1/4 cup peanut or vegetable oil
Salad
- 1 large carrot, peeled and grated or shredded
- 1 ounce thin rice noodles
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (half of a leftover chicken, or 2 chicken breasts)
- 1 small head green leaf lettuce, torn into bite size pieces (or about 2 cups bagged lettuce)
- 1/2 seedless cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- 6 basil leaves, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Cook the rice noodles: Cook the noodles according to the package directions - usually, pour boiling water over them and let them sit for about 5 minutes. Drain.
- Make the dressing: Whisk the pepper flakes, vinegar, lime juice, sugar, garlic and fish sauce in a bowl until the sugar dissolves. Drizzle in the oil, whisking vigorously, until combined. Add the grated carrot, and toss to coat. Let the carrot soak in the dressing while you make the rest of the salad.
- Shred the chicken: Pull the skin and bones off the chicken, and shred the meat into pieces about 1/2 inch thick and 2 inches long. Toss with 2 tablespoons of the dressing.
- Prep the vegetables: Tear the lettuce, and slice the cucumber, onion, cilantro, basil and peanuts.
- Build the salad: Toss the lettuce, cucumber and onion with half the dressing in a large bowl. Top with the rice noodles, then the chicken, then scatter the cilantro, basil and peanuts on top. Drizzle with the rest of the dressing, and serve.
Notes
This salad is designed to use leftovers from my Grilled Butterflied Chicken - if you have leftover dipping sauce from that recipe, use it for the dressing. Almost any roasted chicken works, but skip barbecued chicken; the flavors clash.
Look for thin rice noodles in the international aisle of the supermarket, or at your local Asian market.
For a fancier presentation, build the salad on individual plates after tossing the lettuce.
Shortcuts: Use bagged lettuce and pre-shredded carrots - but slice your own cucumber and onion, and please skip the pre-cooked chicken strips.
Pickled onions: My pickled red onions are a great substitute for the sliced red onion.
Flexible: Use more or less lettuce, skip the noodles, or use mint instead of the basil and cilantro.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes