Chicken Banh Mi Salad
Healthy has never tasted so good! A fresh kale and herb salad, topped with lime ginger chicken and crunchy fresh pickled carrots. All the components can be prepared ahead of time which makes the actual cooking and prep time a breeze.
Ingredients
- 1/2 Serrano Chile (for more spice you can use Jalapeno, but I would be careful!)
- 2 scallions, rough chopped
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar (you can substitute brown sugar)
- Zest and juice of 1 lime
- 3 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Quick Pickles:
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 3 carrots, grated, or thinly sliced
- 4 slices of Serrano Chile (you can add more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
- 1/2 of a cucumber, sliced (thin or thick depending on what you like)
Salad:
- 2 bunches of kale (I like to use baby kale, but any kale will work)
- 1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup basil, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup mint, finely chopped
Salad Dressing:
- 4 teaspoons coconut sugar (or granulated sugar)
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- In a blender, combine Serrano chile, scallions, coconut sugar, lime zest and juice and garlic cloves. Blend until the ingredients become a chunky marinade. Put the chicken in a large glass bowl, and toss with the marinade. Marinate for at least 30 minutes or overnight. If you’re marinating overnight, cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate. If you’re like me, and forget to marinate overnight, you can leave the chicken marinating on the counter while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. You shouldn’t leave the chicken on the counter for more than an hour, though. If you want the chicken to marinate while you drive carpool, you should probably stick it in the fridge.
- Now that we’ve had an in depth discussion on marinating, let’s move on the rest of dinner! For the pickling, in a small bowl, whisk together the coconut sugar, lime juice, and rice vinegar. Put the veggies (carrot, chile and cucumber) in a glass bowl and pour the pickling juice over the veggies. You can make these veggies the day before and stick them in the fridge while they marinate in the pickling juice OR just let them sit on the counter and marinate for at least 10 minutes.
- Next up: Salad and Salad Dressing Prep! In a large bowl (hope you still have bowls handy!), toss the kale, basil, cilantro and mint. In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut sugar, lime juice, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Slowly whisk in olive oil and continue to whisk until the dressing comes together. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss the salad with about 1/3 of the dressing and mix the salad together with your hands.
- Now it’s time to cook the chicken. If you’re in a sunny, tropical climate (lucky you!!) you can grill the chicken. If you’re in a not-so-sunny location, you can pretend it’s sunny and cook the chicken on the stove. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Brush off most of the marinade from the chicken (you don’t want to risk eating a chunk of garlic or ginger) and cook over medium heat until completely cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
- Now the fun part….Assembly! Slice the chicken and serve on a plate with the kale salad, and topped off with the pickled veggies.
- TIP #1: Make a note to remember to marinate the chicken overnight. You’ll feel so good every time you open the fridge and see dinner marinating away!
Notes
Inspired by the Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi Salad on goop.com
Have you made this recipe?I’d love to know! Leave a comment or recipe rating and tag me @amenuforyou on social media!
