Asian Chicken Salad

Asian Chicken Salad

I swear it was February 1 two days ago?! It will be spring in 3 weeks and it will be summer bikini body time before we know it! Eating salads at dinner is great for getting that bikini body…OBV! But are all salads created equally…UMMM…Not really, you’re not going to commit to eating salads if they’re boring, so add some protein to it and add some healthy fats to it like I did and make that salad commitment easier! That’s what I did with this Asian chicken salad, or it’s technically a Chinese chicken salad.

I used Napa cabbage, which is also called Chinese cabbage, and it’s the one you find in the grocery store that has an oblong shape to it. I also added some red (err purple?) cabbage for some color to the cole slaw base, red and green peppers and some carrots. I marinated the chicken withe Asian five-spice, which if you don’t have in your pantry, you need to check it out! You’ll be obsessed with it! It’s a mix of cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise, and Szechwan peppercorns. Can you just taste that chicken flavor through the screen?!

I thought the spice blend was the hero of this Asian chicken salad recipe, but it’s really the dressing! Why? Peanut butter! Smooth and creamy peanut butter that is absolutely just made for this salad recipe.

Mix it all together and you’ve got two ginormous Asian chicken salad bowls for dinner, or possibly four smaller bowls for lunch meal prep! I’m putting this on menu rotation until I create another epic dinner salad.

For the Salad

• 1/2 head Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 cup red cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 large carrot, thinly sliced
• 3 green onions, diagonally cut
• 2 6 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder

For the Dressing

• 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 Tbsp smooth peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp sesame seed oil
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 thumb ginger

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the Napa cabbage, red cabbage, red peppers, green peppers and carrots.
2. In a small blender or food processor, blend together the ingredients for the dressing: rice vinegar, peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame seed oil, garlic and ginger. Pour the dressing over the bowl of cabbage and vegetables, and toss to combine. Divide the salad into two large bowls.
3. Marinate the chicken with the olive oil and Asian five-spice powder and cook thoroughly on both sides. Remove from the pan, slice diagonally and divide between the two bowls. Garnish with the green onions and enjoy!