One of the first food blogs I ever followed was Like Mam Used to Bake by Rosanne Hewitt Cromwell. Sadly, this blog is no more but one of my favourite ever recipes was for her Soy Garlic Chicken which I think was inspired by a Crackbird dish. This recipe was where I learned about spatchcocking chicken and how it makes for the most delicious roast bird.

Over the years I’ve used this recipe in different ways and adapted it. I now rarely use the marinade for roast chicken, more for stir fries or for a salad. So that is how this Soy Sesame and Ginger Chicken Salad came into being. It is a delicious, light and quick meal to put together. And probably my first salad recipe that doesn’t have cheese or bacon!

Useful tips & links:

This marinade is really easy to make and you probably have most of the ingredients already. Feel free to adapt to your own tastes or substitute an ingredient if you don’t have it.
The marinade is also your salad dressing. Some people will automatically throw out the marinade once they have taken the chicken out due to fears that it is now unsafe to use. Once you fully boil the marinade for five minutes you will kill off any bacteria that will be there from the raw chicken and it is then completely safe to use.
This marinade would also be great for a stir fry or you can add noodles to the salad if you want to bulk it up.
Beef or duck would work well here too. Use tofu or a range of veggies to make it vegetarian.
There is a mild pinch of chilli here but feel free to add more if you want to ramp up the heat.
On a similar note, check out Conor’s Cold Soy Braised Chicken recipe.
For another chicken salad have a look at my Warm Chicken and Bacon Salad with Honey and Mustard Dressing.

Soy Sesame and Ginger Chicken Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
A thumbsize piece of ginger, finely grated
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon of soft dark brown sugar
A squeeze of lemon juice
½ teaspoon of chilli flakes
2 chicken breasts, butterflied
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
40g of cashew nuts
Salad leaves
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
40g of sugar snap peas, sliced
2 spring onions, sliced thinly
Oil for frying

Method:

Mix the first 8 ingredients listed above from the soy sauce to the chilli flakes in a large bowl and whisk together until the sugar is dissolved. Put the butterflied chicken into the marinade and mix through. Cover with cling and allow to stand at room temperature for up to 30 minutes or in the fridge if marinating for longer. This can be left overnight.
When ready to make the salad, take a dry non stick frying pan and toast the sesame seeds over a medium heat until golden. Remove and set aside and then do the same with the cashew nuts and set aside.
Turn up the heat under the pan and add a tablespoon of oil. Remove the chicken from the marinade but hold on to the marinade. Fry the chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked through and the sugar in the marinade has caramalised a little.
While the chicken is cooking put some salad leaves on a plate and layer over the grated carrot and sugar snap peas.
Slice up the fried chicken and add to the plates. Put the pan back on the heat and pour in the remaining marinade. Bring this to a boil and then pour over the salad for your dressing.
Sprinkle the sesame seeds, cashew nuts and spring onions on top. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.