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spicy chicken cucumber salad served with chilli oil
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5 from 3 votes

Spicy Chicken Cucumber Salad

Love this chicken salad that has the most amazing Asian flavours and a fantastic texture! Really juicy poached chicken with lots of crunchy cucumber, peanuts, fresh herbs and a spicy chilli oil based dressing. Every bite is a flavour bomb!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Resting Time35 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Salads, Snacks & Appetisers
Cuisine: Asian
Diet: Gluten Free, Halal
Servings: 4 people
Author: Richa

Ingredients

For Poached Chicken

  • 3 Cups Water
  • 1 Bayleaf
  • ½ Inch Ginger
  • 1 - 2 Star Anise
  • ½ Teaspoon Pepper Corns
  • ½ Teaspoon Coriander Seeds
  • 1 Teaspoon Lime Juice
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • 2 Chicken Boneless Breasts Approx. 275 Gms

For Salad

  • 2 Cucumbers Diagonally Cut And Sliced
  • ¼ Cup Skinless Roasted And Coarsely Crushed Peanuts, Preferably Unsalted
  • ½ Cup Fresh Mint Leaves
  • ½ Cup Fresh Coriander Leaves
  • 2 Tablespoon Chopped Spring Onions
  • 1 Tablespoon Toasted Sesame Seeds

For Spicy Salad Dressing

  • 1 Tablespoon Garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon Peanut Butter
  • 1 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
  • 1 Teaspoon Crushed Sichuan Peppercorns
  • 1 Teaspoon Chilli Flakes
  • 1 Teaspoon Korean Chilli Powder Gochugaru, Sub With Regular Chilli Powder
  • ¼ Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Honey
  • 2 Tablespoon Cooking Oil I Like Using Groundnut Oil But Canola, Rice Bran, Sunflower All Work
  • 2 Teaspoon Vinegar

Instructions

For Poached Chicken

  • Add all the aromatics and chicken breasts to a pot of boiling water to poach the chicken. Once the water starts simmering, immediately turn off the flame and cover and let the chicken sit for 20-25 minutes till it's cooked.
  • Remove the chicken from the poaching liquid and let it rest for 10 minutes before shredding it. Reserve the poaching liquid for later. (see notes 1 and 2)

Spicy Salad Dressing

  • In a medium bowl, add garlic, sichuan peppercorns, chilli flakes, korean chilli powder, half the sesame seeds, salt & mix.
  • Heat cooking oil in a pan till smoking hot and pour it over the garlic spice mix. Instant chilli oil is ready!
  • Add peanut butter, light soy sauce, honey and spring onions and give it a good mix. If the dressing feels too thick, use a tablespoon or so of the reserved poaching liquid to thin it out.

Assembling the salad

  • This salad is assembled in layers. In a large platter, place cucumber slices and add shredded chicken on top.
  • Add crushed peanuts, spring onions, mint & coriander leaves and top it with sesame seeds.
  • Pour the spicy chilli oil dressing on top. You can either serve it as is or toss it.

Video

Notes

  • This method of poaching chicken makes it tender and juicy. But, you can also use pre-cooked shredded chicken.
  • Do not discard the poaching liquid. It can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and used as broth/stock in soups, salads or curries.
  • Salad dressing can be made in advance and stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
  • Feel free to use store bought chilli oil instead of making your own and then add the ingredients from step 3 of salad dressing.
  • Peanuts may be replaced with roasted sunflower seeds which works equally well.
  • Peanut butter can be substituted with tahini, cashew butter, almond butter
  • Leftover salad will stay fresh for 2-3 days when refrigerated. The herbs get a bit soggy but I think it just gets better with time!

Nutrition

Calories: 211kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 1111mg | Potassium: 572mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 836IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 2mg