Chinese Shredded Chicken Salad

Serves 6 Prep Time 10 minutes   Cook Time 13 minutes   Rated: Print

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Crunchy, colourful, and all about that toasted sesame dressing. Save the dressing recipe and use it everywhere!

This one lives or dies by the dressing, so that’s where the effort goes. Toasted sesame seeds, ginger, garlic, miso and a slow drizzle of sesame oil come together in the Thermomix to make a glossy vinaigrette that’s nutty, salty, sweet and sharp all at once. Make a double batch, because you’ll want it on everything.

The rest is easy. Wombok and purple cabbage bring the crunch, mandarins add little bursts of sweetness, and Shredded Chicken turns it into a proper main meal. Pile on the crunchy noodles and toasted almonds at the very end, toss, and get it to the table before anyone starts picking. It’s the perfect warm-weather dinner, work lunch or barbecue side when you want something that looks impressive but takes no real effort.The dressing is the star here. It’s nutty, salty, sweet and sharp, and it’s worth making a double batch to keep in the fridge. Everything else is crunch, colour and your shredded chicken doing the heavy lifting. Toss it just before serving so the noodles stay crisp.

Tips

The vinaigrette keeps in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 1 week. Shake well before using, because the miso will settle.

Shred the cabbages by hand or with a mandoline rather than in the Thermomix. Fine, long ribbons hold the dressing better and stay crunchier.

If fresh mandarins are scarce, tinned segments are perfectly fine. Just drain them really well so they don’t water down the dressing.

To make it gluten free, use tamari and swap the fried noodles for crushed rice crackers or extra toasted almonds.

 

Need

Do

1  

Place sesame seeds into the mixing bowl and toast 5 min/120°C/speed 1, until golden. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside to cool. You can do this in a dry frying pan also for a quicker result, just don't burn them!

2  

Place garlic and ginger into the mixing bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 7. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3  

Add rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, honey, miso and lime juice. Mix 10 sec/speed 4.

4  

Set the Thermomix to 1 min/speed 4. Slowly pour the sesame oil and grape seed oil onto the mixing bowl lid so they trickle in around the measuring cup. This will make a glossy, emulsified dressing.

5  

Add toasted sesame seeds and chilli flakes, if using. Mix 3 sec/reverse/speed 2. Taste, then adjust with a little more honey for sweetness or vinegar for acidity. Transfer to a jar.

6  

Place wombok, purple cabbage, spring onions, coriander and mint into a large serving bowl. Toss to combine.

7  

Add the shredded chicken and most of the mandarin segments. Pour over about two-thirds of the vinaigrette and toss well.

8  

Top with the remaining mandarin segments, crunchy noodles and toasted almonds. Drizzle with the rest of the dressing and serve straight away.

Tenina Holder is a wife, mother of five and grandmother of nine, who started cooking in the olden days before Thermomix was even a thing.

Tenina has become the premium go to source for all Thermomix expertise and of course fresh and easy recipes that work. Her cooking classes and foodie trips are sold out in literally hours, her cookbooks appear on the Australian best seller lists and her social reach is in the millions. Her Insider Club is the most fun you can have with a Thermomix and you really should join her! She believes chocolate, butter and salt are health foods. Her food positivity mantra is, eat everything, just not all at once! 

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