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Thai-Style Chicken Salad with Mango

By Steve Dunn

Published on March 19, 2018

Time

1¼ hours

Yield

Serves 4 to 6

Thai-Style Chicken Salad with Mango

Ingredients

Chicken

4 (6- to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmedSalt

Dressing

3 tablespoons lime juice (2 limes)1 shallot, minced2 tablespoons fish sauce, plus extra for serving1 tablespoon packed brown sugar 1 garlic clove, minced¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salad

1 mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into ¼-inch pieces½ cup chopped fresh mint ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro ½ cup chopped fresh Thai basil Salt 1 head Bibb lettuce (8 ounces), leaves separated2 Thai chiles, sliced thin

Before You Begin

We like to serve this salad in leaves of Bibb lettuce to form lettuce cups, but it can also be served on a bed of greens. Toss 6 to 8 cups of greens with 2 teaspoons of lime juice, 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, and a pinch of salt before spooning the chicken on top.

Instructions

    for the chicken

  1. Cover chicken with plastic wrap and pound thick ends gently with meat pounder until ¾ inch thick. Discard plastic wrap. Whisk 4 quarts cool water with 2 tablespoons salt in large Dutch oven. Arrange chicken in steamer basket, making sure not to overlap. Submerge steamer basket in pot. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally to even out hot spots, until water registers 175 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off heat, cover pot, remove pot from burner, and let stand until chicken registers 160 degrees, 17 to 22 minutes.
  2. for the dressing

  3. While chicken cooks, whisk all ingredients together in large bowl.
  4. Transfer chicken to cutting board and let cool, for 10 to 15 minutes. Shred chicken lengthwise into long, thin strips. Transfer to bowl with dressing and toss to coat.
  5. for the salad

  6. Add mango, mint, cilantro, and basil to bowl with chicken and toss to coat. Season with salt to taste. Serve salad in lettuce cups, passing Thai chiles and extra fish sauce separately.
Thai-Style Chicken Salad with Mango
Photography by Carl Tremblay.

Thai-Style Chicken Salad with Mango

Save

Time

1¼ hours

Yield

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

Chicken

4 (6- to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
Salt

Dressing

3 tablespoons lime juice (2 limes)
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons fish sauce, plus extra for serving
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salad

1 mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
½ cup chopped fresh mint
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ cup chopped fresh Thai basil
Salt
1 head Bibb lettuce (8 ounces), leaves separated
2 Thai chiles, sliced thin

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

Chicken

4 (6- to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
Salt

Dressing

3 tablespoons lime juice (2 limes)
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons fish sauce, plus extra for serving
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salad

1 mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
½ cup chopped fresh mint
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ cup chopped fresh Thai basil
Salt
1 head Bibb lettuce (8 ounces), leaves separated
2 Thai chiles, sliced thin

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

Chicken

4 (6- to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
Salt

Dressing

3 tablespoons lime juice (2 limes)
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons fish sauce, plus extra for serving
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salad

1 mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
½ cup chopped fresh mint
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ cup chopped fresh Thai basil
Salt
1 head Bibb lettuce (8 ounces), leaves separated
2 Thai chiles, sliced thin

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

To ensure moist, judiciously seasoned chicken, we arranged four chicken breasts in a steamer basket, submerged the basket in a Dutch oven filled with salted water, and brought the water up to 175 degrees over medium heat. We then shut off the heat, covered the pot, and let the chicken cook gently via the salted water's residual heat until the chicken registered 160 degrees. Before shredding the chicken, we let it rest to allow the juices to redistribute, ensuring moist meat. We found that shredding the chicken created more surface area and allowed for greater penetration of the dressing. To our pungent dressing, which features lime juice and fish sauce, we added fresh herbs, mango, and chiles. We spooned the chicken salad into Bibb lettuce cups to serve.

Before You Begin

We like to serve this salad in leaves of Bibb lettuce to form lettuce cups, but it can also be served on a bed of greens. Toss 6 to 8 cups of greens with 2 teaspoons of lime juice, 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, and a pinch of salt before spooning the chicken on top.

Instructions

    for the chicken

  1. Cover chicken with plastic wrap and pound thick ends gently with meat pounder until ¾ inch thick. Discard plastic wrap. Whisk 4 quarts cool water with 2 tablespoons salt in large Dutch oven. Arrange chicken in steamer basket, making sure not to overlap. Submerge steamer basket in pot. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally to even out hot spots, until water registers 175 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off heat, cover pot, remove pot from burner, and let stand until chicken registers 160 degrees, 17 to 22 minutes.
  2. for the dressing

  3. While chicken cooks, whisk all ingredients together in large bowl.
  4. Transfer chicken to cutting board and let cool, for 10 to 15 minutes. Shred chicken lengthwise into long, thin strips. Transfer to bowl with dressing and toss to coat.
  5. for the salad

  6. Add mango, mint, cilantro, and basil to bowl with chicken and toss to coat. Season with salt to taste. Serve salad in lettuce cups, passing Thai chiles and extra fish sauce separately.

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