This delicious Thai Chicken Noodle Salad is fresh with loads of crunch and flavour. With creaminess from a coconut milk dressing, this allergy-free salad is ready in 20 minutes and makes a satisfying work lunch.
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Why you'll love this Thai Chicken Noodle Salad
Everyone loves a good noodle salad, especially one packed with juicy, succulent pan-fried chicken and a dressing loaded with buckets of umami. Here is why you'll love this salad,
- Ready in 20 minutes.
- Healthy and allergy-friendly.
- Versatile enough to suit the protein of your choice.
- Can be made up to 2 days ahead as part of meal prep.
- Delicious warm or cold.
- Travels well for school or work lunches (mix dressing and salad at the time of eating).
Ingredients & Substitutions
There are only four components to this yummy salad and they come together in a flash.
- Chicken - I use boneless chicken thighs for this dish. You could also use chicken breast or cooked and shredded barbecue/roast chicken. This salad is so versatile, that I often make two versions of it at once - one with chicken and the other with tofu (for me). When cooking chicken, it helps if you are using a good cast iron pan on high heat. It sears and browns the chicken quickly. Then when you lower the heat and cook it until it's done, the chicken gets nice and sticky. If you are cooking tofu, you will need medium-high heat throughout until the tofu is golden.
- Noodles - I use soba noodles for this salad. Soba noodles cook very quickly - a mere 3 minutes in boiling water. I also often use ramen noodles or plain/chow mein pre-cooked egg noodles that need only a couple of minutes in hot water. No matter what noodles I use, after the cooking process, I drain the hot water off and rinse them several times in cold water to bring their temperature down and stop them from cooking further. I do this in a colander (see picture). Once I have rinsed them several times, I lift them with my hands and shake them over the colander to drain them further and to ensure each strand is silky and separate and that there are no clumps. For a gluten-free salad, make sure your soba noodles don't have any wheat in them.
- Vegetables - Loads of crunch from Asian vegetables. Slice them like you would in a coleslaw - cabbage, snow peas, capsicum (bell pepper), onion and Asian herbs.
- Dressing - I use coconut instead of peanut butter for that delicious creaminess. This makes the salad allergy-friendly and truly delicious. I use a bit of fish sauce but that can be easily replaced by more lime juice. I also use lemongrass powder or dried lemongrass leaf cuts when I don't have access to fresh lemongrass. You will need the following
- Ginger - freshly grated is best.
- Garlic - mince fresh cloves or substitute with garlic powder.
- Sesame oil - can be substituted with olive oil.
- Soy sauce - use light soy sauce or tamari.
- Fish sauce - substitute with a combination of lime juice and pineapple juice or make my Vegan Fish Sauce.
- Lemongrass - fresh is best but can be substituted with dried or powdered lemongrass.
- Lime juice
- Chilli flakes
- Coconut sugar - can be substituted with palm sugar.
- Coconut milk - use light coconut milk.
How to make Thai Chicken Noodle Salad
Recipe
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Ingredients
For the chicken
- 500 g chicken thigh fillets
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon oil
For the dressing
- 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
- 1 teaspoon lemongrass powder*
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar
- ½ cup light coconut milk
For the noodle salad
- 2 X 90g dry soba noodles
- 2 French shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
- ½ cup red capsicum, sliced
- 2 cups cabbage, thinly sliced
- 12 snow peas, ends trimmed and sliced lengthways
- 1 cup fresh coriander leaves, chopped
- ½ cup Thai basil leaves
- white and black sesame seeds, coriander leaves, extra red chilli flakes, lime wedges, - to serve
Instructions
- Add chicken, soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, garlic and coconut sugar to a bowl. Mix well. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes.
- Prepare the dressing by mixing all ingredients for it in a lidded glass jar. Dressing can be prepared 2-3 days ahead and stored in the fridge until ready to use.
- Prepare the soba noddles by bringing a pot of water to a rolling boil and adding the dry noodles to the pot. Cook for 3 minutes until noodles are just done. Remove from heat and drain in a colander. Rinse the noodles several times in cold water to stop the cooking process. Run your fingers through the noodles, they should be loose, non-sticky and clump free. Set aside until ready to use.
- To cook the chicken, heat a tablespoon of oil to a large cast iron/non-stick frying pan on medium high. Gently place the marinated chicken in the frying pan. Increase heat to high and cook and sear each side for 1-2 minutes until browned. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally until the chicken thighs are cooked through. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes before slicing the chicken into strips.
- Add the cooked noodles, cooked chicken, French shallots, capsicum, cabbage, snow peas, coriander and basil to a large bowl. Add the dressing and mix toss and mix well until everything is coated evenly with the dressing.
- Serve immediately. Alternatively, prepared salad keeps well in the fridge for up to a day and taste great cold. You may also warm it slightly in the microwave before eating.
Notes
*Lemongrass Powder - I like to use lemongrass powder or dried lemongrass leaf cuts in my recipes as I don't always have access to fresh lemongrass. If using fresh, use the white fleshy root of 1 lemongrass (chopped finely).
Thai Basil - You can substitute Thai basil with regular basil.
Soba Noodles - You can use any thin noodles for this recipe, for e.g. ramen noodles, chow mein noodles or plain egg noodles.
Make It Vegan - Substitute chicken with tofu. Cut into 1-inch rectangular pieces and marinade and fry as per the recipe. Also substitute fish sauce with lime juice.
Did you make my recipe?I'd love to hear how you went! Tag me on Instagram @cookrepublic
a nice new dish for me, love that it uses coconut milk and sugar too, as well as the crunchy textures in the snow peas and some of the other ingredients, thank you!