Chicken salad

[as0372641]

I love the salad at Subway. I usually put buffalo chicken in it with some chipotle and ranch sauce. Do you guys make grilled chicken salads or any type of salad with chicken pieces in them?? How do you go about making the chicken? I don't want to have to cook chicken pieces every day in order to make a salad. I can't always afford the steep rates of Subway salads though. Do you have a grilled chicken salad recipe?

 

[OhioTom76]

You can always just poach a bunch of it all at once to have a large batch on hand for chicken salad. A pack of chicken tenders or a pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts would make plenty for several batches of chicken salad. Personally I buy most of my chicken in bulk from a vendor at a local open market in my neighborhood. They sell me a large bag of 6 oz chicken breasts, which is perfect for me because they are easy to cook and a good portion size.

You can simply poach the chicken in some water simmering and seasoned with sea salt, or you can get fancier and throw in some bay leaves and peppercorns and other stuff, such as an onion and some other aromatics. I will sometimes throw in any remaining carrot or celery scraps I have in the fridge if I am trying to use those up too.

Once done, I make sure to completely cool them and pat them dry to draw out all the excess moisture. Otherwise that will leech into the chicken salad and make it runny.

For the chicken salad itself I add:

- mayo
- celery
- red onion
- fresh parsley
- honey or sugar
- lemon juice
- spicy brown mustard
- sea salt & black pepper to taste

and optionally:

- toasted walnuts
- red seedless grapes, halved
- fresh chives

 

[CrystalSPF]

I actually made a big batch Thai Chicken Salad for my lunches this week. I took one chicken breast, sliced it in half, seasoned it, and grilled it in a pan on the stove. I made a small batch for five days, so you could certainly cook more chicken. When it was cooled, I sliced it cross-wise into strips. I cut up two heads of Romain lettuce and put it aside in a gallon Ziploc bag. For the toppings, I chopped up a red pepper, 3 green onions, and added an 11 oz can of mandarin oranges. Then I added the chicken and toppings to a Tupperware container. For the dressing, I added 6 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil, and 3 tablespoons simple syrup to a mason jar and shook it to mix it well. I also chopped some peanuts for a garnish. You can also add wonton strips. I just assemble all the ingredients at work when I'm ready to eat, so the salad doesn't get soggy.

I also love the combination of feta, cranberries, candied walnuts, chicken, and a sweet dressing.