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Chicken Salad With Lemon-Sesame Dressing
![Chicken Salad With Lemon-Sesame Dressing](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/images/2022/06/01/dining/as-lemon-sesame-chicken-salad/as-lemon-sesame-chicken-salad-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 15 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 1tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil, plus more for serving
- 1pound ground chicken or turkey
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ¼cup white or yellow miso
- 1large lemon, zested and juiced (about 1 tablespoon zest and 3 tablespoons juice)
- 1½inches fresh ginger, peeled and chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
- 3celery stalks, thinly sliced, leaves reserved
- 1cup basil leaves, large ones torn in half
- 2tablespoons black or white sesame seeds, or a combination (or furikake)
Preparation
- Step 1
In a large (12-inch) skillet, heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil over medium-low. Add the chicken, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper, and cook, breaking up into small pieces, until opaque and just cooked through, 3 to 6 minutes. (You’re not looking to brown the meat here, which would risk drying it out.) Remove from heat to cool.
- Step 2
In a large bowl, stir together the miso, lemon zest and juice, ginger and 1½ teaspoons sesame oil.
- Step 3
When the chicken is no longer hot (warm or cool both work), use a slotted spoon to add it to the bowl with the dressing, leaving any chicken juices behind. Stir to combine. Add the sliced celery, celery leaves, basil and sesame seeds; stir to combine. Taste, and if it needs more spice, add black pepper; if it’s bland, add salt; if it’s dry, add sesame oil. Eat warm or at room temperature. (Leftovers will keep for up to 2 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Literally the easiest and most delicious recipe.
Made this with fresh salmon chunks instead of ground chicken, it was delicious — will definitely make again.
Miso is mostly just salty but it does have an umami aspect to it so I might try a combination of soy sauce or liquid aminos and a dash of fish sauce. The quantities would need to be based off your individual tastes so add sparingly and taste and continue to add until you are happy with the flavors. White and yellow miso's are very mild in flavor so keep that in mind if you are trying to stay in the spirit of the recipe. Happy cooking!
Lightly sautéed broccoli with onions and garlic after the chicken came out to cool. Put over soba noodles — amazing!
I don't use miso. Is there a logical substitution for it?
This recipe is delicious. I upped the ginger and basil a bit to give it more of a slight kick. I'd recommend multiplying the ingredient amounts by about a third so that it feeds four adults well.
I subbed cilantro for the basil, added scallions, and sauteed garlic with the chicken. Delicious!!!
Incredible, like will make once again this week incredible. Made it with turkey (i think turkey is better here than chicken, more moist), added mint with the basil, used white miso from Trader Joe’s, and used both chopped ginger and a couple of frozen ginger cubes. 11/10.
I made this with cilantro instead of basil, as I'm not a fan of fresh basil, added some green onions and served it over udon. It was delicious. Will be adding it to our dinner roster.
This was good, quick and easy, I think I just learned I don't like that much miso. I would make again and do 1/2 miso 1/2 tahini.
delicious! made the spring version with grilled chicken leftovers, asparagas and peapods over soba.
Yum! I doubled the basil, ginger, lemon and sesame oil. Added garlic when cooking turkey. Mixed in farro and scallions to the salad portion and serve on a crunchy bed of romaine lightly dressed with olive oil and lemon.
Used crumbled tofu that I drained for several hours (before crumbling). It's delicious but I might see if I can get the tofu even drier before sautéing. Used lots of basil and mint; snap peas and a little cuke (no celery); toasted the sesame seeds first. Might add some red pepper for color. Delicious & light & fresh.
Very good. I made it with furikake instead of sesame seeds and it was a bit salty. I’d reduce the salt next time or do half furikake and half sesame seeds. Served it with rice. Delish.
Ground pork instead of poultry and add walnuts, and mint-makes this super yummy!
Just didn’t seem to have a lot going on other than the lemon flavor. Likely won’t make this again.
Very salty…not sure I really liked this
This is an easy and tasty salad to bring to work. I had it over spring mix. The lemon I used was HUGE, so next time I would go with less lemon juice so that you can taste the miso more.
This recipe has become a weeknight go-to! So flavorful and comforting. Quick to make, easy to clean up. Served over soba with a drizzle of chili crisp for some heat, it’s just perfect! I’ll try with additional vegetables next time as others have suggested, but I’ve loved it as written.
Added edamame…good flavor but kind of a weird/awkward dish. Would have appreciated more instructions on what to serve it with. And could use a few more ingredients like the edamame
Per the comments, I upped the miso to a third cup. LOVED it. I served it on salad. Super quick, easy weekday meal.
I thought this would have more miso flavor, the lemon juice overwhelmed the delicate flavor of the miso. I am an adventurous eater but the presentation was a wee bit off putting even for me. Sorry, this is a no go for me.
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