Warm Honey Soy Pulled Chicken Salad \ VIDEO

The daffodils are out, trench coats are making an appearance on the streets, and the days are starting to feel marginally warmer… why, spring has sprung!

This means it’s almost time to swap hearty soups for fresh salads, but if you live in a place like old Blighty you’d be forgiven for not wanting to give up hot food just yet.

Luckily, we have the perfect solution to bridge the gap! Try our warm honey soy chicken salad; it’s packed with crunchy veg and succulent pulled chicken so it feels like a really substantial and warming meal.

We also add a few cashews as a treat, and toasted pine nuts would work fabulously here too. Best of all, it’s super easy to throw together!

 

Warm honey soy pulled chicken salad

Serves 2

2 chicken breast fillets, halved
300g broccolini (aka tenderstem broccoli), sliced into thirds lengthwise
2 big handfuls young spinach
1 red bell pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 small handfuls roasted and salted cashews

for the poaching liquid
400ml boiling water
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp runny honey
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp dark soy sauce

1. Add all of the poaching liquid ingredients to a saucepan. Bring to a gentle rolling boil, then add in the chicken pieces. Poach uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the heat, then use two forks to shred the chicken while it is still in the saucepan. Aim for chunky pieces. Return the saucepan to the heat. Allow the chicken to cook uncovered for a further 10 minutes so the honey soy sauce reduces down, becoming darker in colour and slightly syrupy.

2. While the honey soy sauce is reducing, cook the broccolini spears. Put a frying pan over medium heat. Add the oil, followed by the broccolini spears. Sauté the broccolini for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and white pepper. Sauté for a further minute then remove from the heat to keep some good crunch in the spears.

3. To assemble the salad, lay down a bed of spinach leaves on a big plate. Layer half of the sliced red peppers on top, followed by the broccolini spears. Then use a pair of tongs to layer on the shredded chicken. Tuck the remaining pepper slices into the salad. Drizzle the honey soy sauce from the saucepan on top, then finish with a generous sprinkling of cashew nuts.