Thai-Style Chicken and Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- 1 ½ cups uncooked quinoa, rinsed well
- 2 cups cooked chicken
- ½ cup chopped carrots
- ½ cup shelled edamame
- ½ cup chopped red pepper
- 4 green onions, chopped
- ½ cup chopped roasted peanuts
- ½ cup freshly chopped cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
Sauce:
- 4 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons canned coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons creamy peanut butter
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 lime juiced, about 2 tablespoons
- Pinch of ground ginger
Instructions
- Prepare quinoa according to package directions. I usually cook quinoa in low-sodium chicken broth: 1 cup quinoa to 1 1/2 cups liquid.
- While quinoa is cooking, combine all of the sauce ingredients together in a liquid measure and whisk to combine (or pulse in a blender). When the quinoa finishes cooking, scoop it into a large bowl. Stir in the sauce and mix well. Stir in the chicken, carrots, edamame, red pepper, green onions, peanuts and cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm, room temperature or chilled.
Notes
Chicken: be aware that this recipe makes use of already cooked chicken so plan ahead (it's a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken and is delicious with grilled chicken or even leftover turkey).
Edamame: I can't find fresh edamame in my neck of the woods, so I bought frozen, let it thaw and popped the edamame out of the shells and right into the salad.
Amounts: also, for the most part, the amounts for the salad ingredients aren't rocket science and can just be eyeballed based on your taste preference.