Korean Chicken Salad (Dak Nangchae)
This Korean chicken salad combines with shredded poached chicken breast, cucumber, onion, and apple slices, then dressed with a tangy sesame mustard dressing. This light and healthy mayo free salad is great for BBQs and potluck parties.
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts boneless & skinless
- 1 inch ginger thinly sliced
- 1 Korean cucumber or English cucumber seeded and thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 medium white onion thinly sliced
- 1 sweet red apple thinly sliced
For salad dressing
- 4 tsp Korean mustard (yeongeoja) See notes below for substitute
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp Korean plum extract (maeshil cheong) or apple juice
- 2 tsp sweet rice wine (mirim)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds divided
Instructions
- Put a few thin slices of ginger in a pot of water. Bring to boil. Add the chicken breasts, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove the pot from heat, and leave chicken breast to stand with lid on for 20 minutes or longer. Shred the chicken breast.
- Meanwhile, soak onion slices in cold water for 5 minutes, then drain; set aside.
- Slice cucumber in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Slice the cucumber in thin diagonal slices. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt on the cucumber slices and toss. Let sit for 5 minutes, then gently squeeze out the excess moisture from cucumber.
- In a small mortar, roughly grind up toasted whole sesame seeds with a pestle. Do not grind the sesame seeds too finely. You will want them coarsely crushed.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine Korean mustard paste, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, salt, Korean plum extract, rice wine, sesame oil and 1-1/2 tablespoon of crushed sesame seeds; mix well.
- Put the salad in a serving dish and garnish with the remaining crushed sesame seeds. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator up to 30 minutes.
Notes
Korean mustard paste substitute -- If you can't find Korean mustard paste, you can use mustard powder mixed with warm water to form a paste. Combine 1 tablespoon hot mustard powder with half a teaspoon of water and allow the mixture to stand for 5-10 minutes before using.
Nutrition
Calories: 165kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 645mg | Potassium: 426mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 92IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1mg