As colorful as it is tasty, this Asian chicken salad with cabbage proved to be an inspired invention. I was sick and didn’t feel like cooking much, plus I could hardly taste anything.
The crispy, vibrant salad even helped improve my appetite. It looked pretty (with the cabbage, peppers, and carrots), and I could taste it! It was also a good way to keep using up the giant cabbage I got from FreshDirect.
Asian chicken salad with cabbage is pretty easy to make, and you can make the dressing in advance if you like.
Before I got sick I had defrosted a chicken thigh that I had to use up, so I just seasoned that with ginger, garlic, a bit of soy sauce, and some sriracha. Then all I had to do was pop it in the oven. Easy! The recipe would also work just fine with leftover rotisserie chicken, or even some leftover Chinese pork.
If you don’t want meat, you could add crispy Chinese noodles, hard boiled egg, or extra veggies.
The dressing is straight from a recipe I found online in The New York Times recipe section. I don’t like a lot of dressing, so this made about 4 servings of dressing for me. Your mileage may vary.
Asian Chicken and Cabbage Salad Recipe for One
A slightly spicy, bright, and colorful asian chicken salad that's hard to resist.
Notes
I included the cooking time for the chicken in the recipe preparation notes. If you use pre-cooked chicken the whole thing will be finished in 10 minutes.
Ingredients
Salad
- 1/4 C red cabbage, shredded
- 1 carrot, cut in thin slices or shredded
- 1/2 small red bell pepper (about 1/2 cup)
- 1/3 cup cucumber, sliced
Chicken
- 1 chicken leg or thigh
- Generous pinch powdered ginger
- Generous pinch powdered garlic
- 2 squirts soy sauce
- 1-2 squirts Sriracha
Dressing
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 3 T rice vinegar
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 5 T canola oil
- 2 T sesame oil
Instructions
- Season the chicken and bake in a 425 degree oven 25-30 minutes. Remove and let sit until it is cool enough to handle.
- Prepare the veggies and mix them together in a large bowl.
- Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a mini-chopper and pulsing until all the ingredients are chopped up and mixed together.
- Once the chicken has cooled, remove the meat from the bone.
- Put the veggies and chicken in a large bowl and pour the dressing over it.
I had a big bag of mini mixed bell peppers, so I used those (they also helped make the food look more appealing) and a seedless cucumber, so that’s what I used.
You could use regular bell peppers, add snow peas, mushrooms, or regular cucumbers too. Food should be flexible, and unless it’s baking, you should adjust recipes to fit what you have or what you prefer to eat.
Ingredients and Tools for This Recipe
Black and Decker mini food chopper
I use this all the time. It’s so much easier than dragging out a big food processor. And, with space at a premium, it’s a lot easier to store it too. Use it for the dressing, to chop garlic or onions, cut up potatoes, and make pesto without making a big mess.
This stuff has become so popular it’s almost a cliché, but it’s also versatile enough to use in eggs, salads, meatballs, or on chicken. Just a little bit adds a big punch of flavor, without being too spicy or too sweet.
More Asian Recipes with Chicken or Cabbage
Chinese Chicken Noodle Cabbage Soup for One Person
Fragrant with garlic, spicy chili, mellowed cabbage, and a touch of sweetness from honey, this Chinese chicken noodle cabbage soup tastes great and clears stuffy heads too.
Bibimbap Rice Bowl with Meat and Vegetables
Both a feast for the eyes and the taste buds, this dish is enriched with a spicy, garlicky sauce, sweet carrots, and lots of vibrant veggies.
Pantry-friendly and hunger-friendly too. This is ready quickly and uses ingredients you already have around. But, it tastes like it came from a restaurant.
Sichuan Chinese Chicken and Eggplant with Garlic Sauce
Speaking of takeout, this is a takeout standard that you can easily make at home. It’s spicy, tender, and absolutely delicious. No need to get takeout.