Thai Chicken Salad

Must. Resist. Picking through to eat all of the mango immediately.

Mission eat-more-protein took a step forward today... I found a way that I really like chicken! Turns out if I shred it and mix it with a bunch of crunchy things, tossed in a delicious sauce, it's pretty good.

I pretty much followed this recipe, making a few substitutions for convenience/availability and then adding the rice cake crumbles on top, because apparently cabbage and carrots and peanuts weren't crunchy enough for me.

Big pile of crunchy things.

The dressing is excellent. I will be using it again, not just on this salad. In fact, there's some leftover in the fridge, so I will be using it again soon. Maybe as a stir-fry sauce?

The Recipe:
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1/2 head white cabbage, shredded
15 baby carrots, quartered length-wise
1/2 c green onions, chopped (I used red onion today, but green would be better)
1 mango, sliced into slivers
1/2 c peanuts, chopped
1 rice cake, crumbled
1/4 c thai basil, chopped
1/4 c cilantro, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 tb chili-garlic sauce
2 tb soy sauce
2 tb apple cider vinegar
1 tb sugar
1 tb lime juice
1 tb canola oil
1/2 tsp fish sauce
1/4 c almond butter
1/4 c water

Blend garlic, chili-garlic sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, lime juice, canola oil, fish sauce, almond butter, and water to make the dressing.
Toss shredded chicken, cabbage, carrots, green onions, and mango in dressing.
Serve topped with peanuts, rice cake crumbs, basil, and cilantro.

The Verdict:

Overall grade: A

Overall reason: Absolutely delicious and so healthy. It would get an A+ if I liked cabbage more.

Time to prepare: 45 minutes

Husband quote: "Good! And there's magical popcorn on top."

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