Coconut Chicken Salad with Crunchy Cabbage, Cucumber & Sesame
Stop what you are doing and make this salad, please
I want to declare this the salad of the Summer but that feels a bit bigheaded, so instead I will say that this is my salad of the Summer. It’s truly so good. I’ve cooked this so many times for so many people over the last few weeks and every single person has asked for the recipe so I wanted to share it with you too. It’s kind of hard to photograph a salad and really get across to you the sheer deliciousness but promise you will trust me on this one.
I went for supper at one of my best friends about a month ago and she made a chicken salad so delicious I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It looks fairly simple and unassuming but it’s deceptively delicious. So full of flavour and texture but light and delicate. We all had seconds and wanted more.
She said it was her take on a Rick Stein recipe and within a few days I’d come up with my own version of it and now I can’t stop making it. The poached chicken is so delicate and delicious and I love using the fragrant coconut broth to form part of the salad dressing. It’s not overwhelmingly coconutty but just kissed with coconut.
It’s really simple and quick to put together. You get the chicken on to poach and then you get on with a bit (or quite a lot) of chopping. You shred the chicken, make the dressing and then toss it all together. Absolutely delicious and can be on the table in 20 minutes. Really truly.
The full recipe is below for paid subscribers (along with a handy PDF version). You also get access to helpful notes on the recipe in case you want to make it vegetarian friendly, or you’re feeding more people and want to scale up easily. Perhaps you’re feeding the whole family? It’s all covered in the Notes.
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This recipe serves 2 generously with leftovers. It could probably serve 3 in the end, depending on the size of your cabbage. But as you know, I am a fan of a generous portion, especially when it's a salad, so I go with serves 2 with leftovers.
