This Spicy Chicken Cucumber Salad is a medley of poached chicken, cucumber, fresh herbs, roasted peanuts, and a spicy chilli oil-based sauce. It’s a total texture and flavour bomb that’s perfect for the summer!
Looking for more summertime salads? I have an entire section on Salad Meals. Check it out!
I ate this Spicy Chicken Cucumber Salad at a restaurant recently and instantly knew I had to recreate it at home! It’s so simple and refreshing, which is all that we seem to be craving these days in the heat.
Simple ingredients like poached chicken, cucumber, lots of fresh herbs and roasted peanuts form the base of this salad. We finish it with a quick sweet and spicy sauce to tie everything together before serving right away.
Make this with paneer or tofu to keep this vegetarian. However you serve it, this cucumber salad has got to make its way to your table this summer!
Quick Walk Through: Spicy Chicken Cucumber Salad
Spicy Chicken Salad Ingredients
Chicken: I have used boneless breasts but any cut will work. You can even save time by using pre-cooked or store-bought chicken and shred it at home
Water: to poach chicken
Spices: bayleaf, ginger, star anise, peppercorn, coriander seeds, chilli flakes, schezwan pepper corns, chilli flakes, Korean chilli powder (gochugaru), and sesame seeds are all used at different points in the recipe for color, flavor, heat, spice, and aroma
Cucumbers: a star ingredient in this recipe, added for freshness and crunch
Salt: for flavor and seasoning
Fresh Herbs: for freshness. I have used coriander and mint leaves. You can even add basil, lime leaves, or spring onion greens
Peanuts: coarsely crushed to add a depth of flavor and texture. Can be subbed with roasted sunflower seeds
Garlic: for that pungent zing and aroma
Cooking Oil: any neutral flavoured oil like canola oil, vegetable oil or sunflower oil will work. Because this has peanuts, I like using groundnut oil
Peanut Butter: adds a nutty creaminess and body to the dressing
Sauces: light soy sauce, vinegar, and honey add a sweet, spicy, zingy flavor that really rounds off this salad beautifully
Toasted Sesame Seeds: add a nutty crunch. You can add these to both the dressing and as a topping to the cucumber chicken salad when serving
How to Poach Chicken
There are a lot of different ways to poach chicken depending on the dish you are making. Here’s how to poach chicken for this spicy chicken cucumber salad recipe:
- Add all the aromatics and chicken breasts to a pot of boiling water and once the water starts simmering, immediately turn off the flame and cover and let the chicken sit for 20-25 minutes till it’s cooked.
- Then remove the chicken from the poaching liquid and let it rest for 10 minutes before shredding it.
And your easy-peasy poached chicken is ready!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yep! Just make the salad dressing in advance and store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week to use when ready. The leftover salad will stay fresh for 2-3 days when refrigerated.
I recommend storing the dressing and the salad separately in different airtight containers. Since this salad is served layered rather than mixed, it would be easier to store the different components separately.
You can grill the seasoned paneer/tofu and then shred or cube it. That will work!
How to Make Spicy Chicken Cucumber Salad
Add all the aromatics and chicken breasts to a pot of boiling water to poach the chicken. Once the water starts simmering, immediately turn off the flame and cover and let the chicken sit for 20-25 minutes till it’s cooked.
Remove the chicken from the poaching liquid and let it rest for 10 minutes before shredding it. Reserve the poaching liquid for later.
Spicy Salad Dressing
In a medium bowl, add garlic, sichuan peppercorns, chilli flakes, korean chilli powder, half the sesame seeds, salt & mix.
Heat cooking oil in a pan till smoking hot and pour it over the garlic spice mix. Instant chilli oil is ready!
Add peanut butter, light soy sauce, honey and spring onions and give it a good mix. If the dressing feels too thick, use a tablespoon or so of the reserved poaching liquid to thin it out.
Assembling the salad
Slice cucumbers by removing the pulpy, seed part of it, like shown above and place the slices in a large bowl or plate
Add crushed peanuts, mint & coriander leaves and top with sesame seeds.
Pour the spicy chilli oil dressing on top. You can either serve it as is or toss it.
Richa’s Top Tricks
- This method of poaching chicken makes it tender and juicy. But, you may also use pre-cooked shredded chicken.
- Do not discard the poaching liquid as it will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This may be used in your cooking as a broth in soups, salads or a gravy.
Serving Ideas
- Serve with a side of crusty garlic bread for a complete meal
- This salad also tastes really good with soup. My favorite soup pairings with spicy chicken salad include broccoli almond soup, eight treasure soup, and my egg drop soup
- If you want something more filling, throw in a quick fried rice or noodles for a hearty, wholesome meal
Customisation Ideas
- For a veg version of this salad, check out my Spicy Tofu Cucumber Salad. You can easily make it vegan by replacing honey with maple syrup
- You can add more veggies depending on your preference and availability. Roasted broccoli, boiled sweet corn, baby corn, and colorful bell peppers add freshness and added flavor to this salad
Summers call for this Spicy Chicken Cucumber Salad! Not only is it bright and refreshing, but it also looks beautiful on the table because of how we plate it! If you’re calling friends over for a summertime lunch, you know what to make!
If you make this, do send me your recreations over on my IG!
Watch Spicy Chicken Cucumber Salad Recipe Video
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Spicy Chicken Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
For Poached Chicken
- 3 Cups Water
- 1 Bayleaf
- ½ Inch Ginger
- 1 – 2 Star Anise
- ½ Teaspoon Pepper Corns
- ½ Teaspoon Coriander Seeds
- 1 Teaspoon Lime Juice
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Chicken Boneless Breasts Approx. 275 Gms
For Salad
- 2 Cucumbers Diagonally Cut And Sliced
- ¼ Cup Skinless Roasted And Coarsely Crushed Peanuts, Preferably Unsalted
- ½ Cup Fresh Mint Leaves
- ½ Cup Fresh Coriander Leaves
- 1 Tablespoon Toasted Sesame Seeds
For Spicy Salad Dressing
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic
- 1 Teaspoon Crushed Sichuan Peppercorns
- 1 Teaspoon Chilli Flakes
- 1 Teaspoon Korean Chilli Powder Gochugaru, Sub With Regular Chilli Powder
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- 3 Tablespoon Cooking Oil I Like Using Groundnut Oil But Canola, Rice Bran, Sunflower All Work
- 1 Tablespoon Peanut Butter
- 1 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
- 1 Teaspoon Honey
- 2 Teaspoon Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
For Poached Chicken
-
Add all the aromatics and chicken breasts to a pot of boiling water to poach the chicken. Once the water starts simmering, immediately turn off the flame and cover and let the chicken sit for 20-25 minutes till it’s cooked.
-
Remove the chicken from the poaching liquid and let it rest for 10 minutes before shredding it. Reserve the poaching liquid for later. (see notes 1 and 2)
Spicy Salad Dressing
-
In a medium bowl, add garlic, sichuan peppercorns, chilli flakes, korean chilli powder, half the sesame seeds, salt & mix.
-
Heat cooking oil in a pan till smoking hot and pour it over the garlic spice mix. Instant chilli oil is ready!
-
Add peanut butter, light soy sauce, honey, vinegar, toasted sesame oil and give a good mix. If the dressing feels too thick, use a tablespoon or so of the reserved poaching liquid to thin it out.
Assembling the salad
-
This salad is assembled in layers. In a large platter, place cucumber slices and add shredded chicken on top.
-
Add crushed peanuts, mint & coriander leaves and top with sesame seeds.
-
Pour the spicy chilli oil dressing on top. You can either serve it as is or toss it.
Video
Notes
- This method of poaching chicken makes it tender and juicy. But, you can also use pre-cooked shredded chicken.
- Do not discard the poaching liquid. It can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and used as broth/stock in soups, salads or curries.
- Salad dressing can be made in advance and stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Feel free to use store bought chilli oil instead of making your own and then add the ingredients from step 3 of salad dressing.
- Peanuts may be replaced with roasted sunflower seeds which works equally well.
- Peanut butter can be substituted with tahini, cashew butter, almond butter
- Leftover salad will stay fresh for 2-3 days when refrigerated. The herbs get a bit soggy but I think it just gets better with time!
Nutrition
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