One of my favorite dishes on our site is our kou shui ji recipe. Literally translated as “drool chicken” (mmm…drool.), it’s a spicy Sichuan poached chicken dish smothered in a flavorful sauce. This spicy chicken salad is kind of a riff on it, with a much simpler version of kou shui ji sauce serving as the dressing.
I’m also using a rotisserie chicken, because I’ve lately discovered that rotisserie chickens are a working girl’s best friend. After a long commute to work, a long day, and a long commute home, the LAST thing I want to do is spend an hour putting dinner together. This spicy chicken salad checks of all the right boxes.
Fast? Check. Takes 20 minutes from start to finish (and that’s a conservative estimate). Ba-bam.
Healthy? Check. There’s lettuce. And an inconspicuous lack of carbs.
Filling and satisfying enough to make you happy to be eating salad for dinner? Check. Plenty of protein, and a sauce/dressing that makes you happy to be alive.
The other great thing about this salad is the addition of herbs––cilantro and mint, to be exact. They add a really great extra dimension of flavor. You can also feel free to customize this salad to your tastes, adding extra things like toasted nuts, avocado, or other herbs. The world’s your oyster!
You’ll need:
- 2 tablespoons sesame paste
- 2 tablespoons chili oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar or lime juice
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 cooked rotisserie chicken, de-boned and shredded
- 8 oz. mixed salad greens
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup mint leaves
In a medium bowl, stir together the sesame paste, chili oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, garlic, scallions, and sesame seeds.
Add the chicken to a serving bowl…
….and spoon on some of the dressing.
Toss with the salad greens and herbs…
And serve with any additional dressing on the side.
Spicy Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sesame paste
- 2 tablespoons chili oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (or lime juice)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 2 scallions (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (toasted)
- 1 cooked rotisserie chicken (de-boned and shredded)
- 8 oz. mixed salad greens
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup mint leaves
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the sesame paste, chili oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, garlic, scallions, and sesame seeds. Add the chicken to a serving bowl, and spoon on some of the dressing. Toss with the salad greens and herbs, and serve with any additional dressing on the side.
Jos says
Hello
A really nice and simple recipy, the only thing I put in additional was fresh juicy sweet mango, really nice combination with the spicy dressing, salad and chicken.
Reg
Jos
Sarah says
oooh mango sounds like an excellent addition!
Kim says
Just made this – absolutely delicious. Added in some sliced cucumber and mangetout for a bit of extra crunch. I can see the dressing turning up in our house on noodles, boiled eggs, tofu and any damned thing that stays still long enough for me to smother it. Might also try subbing crunchy peanut butter for the sesame paste for some extra texture… Thank you!
Sarah says
Hahaha you’re welcome Kim! This recipe doesn’t get a lot of play on the comments circuit, but I think it’s great. Glad you decided to try it and enjoyed it!
LYNN STEFANUK says
Hi Sarah,
I found pure 100% sesame paste in my area. Lucky me :). I made the dressing a few days. I used regular vinegar. I did not have chicken – I use ham. I did not have mint/cilantro. However; it’s still delicious. Just want to say thank you for sharing and please post more Asian salad dressing. As usual, this blog always the best in all aspects.
Sarah says
So glad you liked it Lynn! Have you checked out our recipe for carrot ginger dressing? Check it out here!
William Read says
Hi Sarah. I’ve been scouting around for a salad and this one looks scrumptious! Fortunately, it also seems fortified in vitamins and minerals. I was wondering. Do you think this dish would still fly without the chicken? My friend is a Strict vegetarian. Thank you.
Sarah says
Hey William, great question. I think that this salad definitely does need some kind of protein to stand up to the hearty dressing. You could substitute the chicken with tofu! Just buy some firm tofu, cut it into 1/2-inch cubes, and pan-fry the cubes in a couple tablespoons oil until crisp on all sides (you’ll need relatively high heat to get the desired crispiness!). Then toss in with the salad and the dressing. You could also add slivered almonds, which would be awesome.
Celina in Alberta, Canada says
So this was delightful. At first I thought my partner was being sarcastic as he was so animated and going on and on about how much he loved the flavours but nope, he was just that into this dish. It was insanely good! We have a large Asian grocery chain in town but they were out of Chinese sesame paste so I, and my handy little hand blender, made a makeshift version using toasted black and white sesame seeds. I was wondering if you think things like Thai basil would be a good herb to add or maybe it would be too overpowering? Thank you very much for this recipe!
Little Cooking Tips says
A perfect recipe for leftover chicken! Delicious, healthy (as you mentioned), and perfect for a filling and light dinner! Excellent work Sarah! This one will be present in our table tomorrow night as we’ll get some rotisserie chicken tonight and there will be some left for tomorrow.
Perfect!
Thank you so much!
xoxoxo
Sarah says
Yay! That’s exactly what this recipe is for––reviving leftover chicken in a way that doesn’t make you feel like you’re eating leftovers. Let us know what you think!
Gerlinde / Sunnycovechef says
Wow, my kind of salad and the dressing looks fantastic , I will make it soon.
Sarah says
Thanks Gerlinde!
LYNN STEFANUK says
Sesame paste is Tahini paste or can be substituted? I never sesame paste in Asian market. Thanj you
Sarah says
Hey Lynn, yes you can use tahini!
oli says
Amazing dressing :)
sesame paste (tahina), rice vinegar, chili paste (sambal type), fresh garlic, soy sauce… WAOW, such an explosive taste
by the way, i m suscribed to your blog and have become an avid reader of your quality post. Very good pictures (both explicative and very teasing) and great text (nice to read, clear instructions). Keep up :)
oli
Sarah says
Thanks oli!