If you browse through this website you may encounter a couple of similar Asian-style salads and wonder if they’re all really that different. Â Well they are. Â Just like you can make an omelette 100 different ways, you can have 100 different versions of an Asian salad, and I can pretty much guarantee you this isn’t the last one I post. Â Again this is totally a recipe you can customize to your taste by switching the protein, the nuts and/or the veggies. Â You should really keep the sauce though, that stuff is good.
This salad is crunchy, fresh, tangy, nutty and contains about a thousand grams in fiber. Â Kind of kidding, but not quite.
Fun fact of the day I ate this with chopsticks, which are a great tool for someone like me who eats at the speed of light because they force me to eat slower.  Meaning: I’m still pretty awkward with chopsticks 😉
- 400 grams chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2 tbsp virgin coconut oil,
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 inch piece of ginger, minced or grated
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos (paleo soy sauce)
- 4 tbsp natural almond butter
- half a small shallot, minced
- a splash of fish sauce
- 1 tsp sambal oelek
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 head of each purple and green cabbage, mandolined or chopped finely
- 2 medium carrots, julienned or shredded
- 1 small bunch of black kale, ripped off the stems and chopped
- 3 green onions, chopped (use both the green and white parts)
- 1/4 cup fresh mint chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- sesame seeds for garnish
- toasted almond flakes, for garnished
- a few wedges of lime
- Blend all of the marinade ingredients (except coconut oil) into a food processor until smooth. You should have enough marinade to use half for the chicken, and keep the other half for the salad.
- In either a bowl or a ziploc bag, place the chunks of chicken along with the marinade and toss to coat the chicken. The longer it sits in the marinade the better, but I know things can be last minute so give it at the very least 1 hour (ideal would be overnight).
- During that time, prep all the salad ingredients and mix into a bowl.
- After the chicken chunks are done marinating, you will need to put them on skewers. From here you can go 3 different routes: saute in the pan in coconut oil, bake, or grill. If you're grilling, you will need metal skewers or you will need to have planed ahead and soaked your wooden kabobs for at least 2 hours. Otherwise, wooden skewers are fine as is.
- To pan-fry, heat coconut oil into a large skillet until oil is very hot and place kabobs onto pan. Allow to brown and flip to the other side and repeat the process until each side is nicely browned. Depending on the thickness of your pieces this could take from 6 to 10 minutes so watch it closely. Your chicken should be firm to touch but not hard.
- If you're using the oven, place skewer on a parchment paper lined baking dish and bake at 400 for about 10 to 12 minutes, broiling for the last 2. Adjust time according to your oven but careful not to overcook.
- If you're using the bbq grill, just use your judgment, frankly I am not a pro at grilling and ever grill is different.
- Once chicken is done, throw the other half of the marinade in the salad and toss. Dish out salad in each person's bowl, place chicken skewers on top and garnish with almond flakes, sesame seeds and a squeeze of lime.