This Asian Poached Chicken Pineapple Salad with crushed pineapple has a simple Vietnamese style dressing and can be served in lettuce cups or as a salad. The sweetness of the pineapple is subtle and is a great way to use up leftover crushed pineapple!
I love chicken salads.
They are a great use for any leftover chicken and though I started from scratch by poaching my chicken breasts, this can easily be made with a store bought roast chicken.
Poaching chicken breasts is so easy and achieves a juicier and less salty chicken, than buying a rotisserie chicken. You will notice the difference I promise.
The chicken was hand shredded. meaning I tore it into shreds before blending it with the dressing.
Sounds weird but I like the size of the pieces much better than if I had chopped them.
Canned crushed pineapple was also used in this salad. I had some in the fridge and hating to waste anything, I decided to toss it in.
Fresh pineapple or mango can also be used but I did love the way the crushed pineapple blended right in.
Slices of coconut or shredded coconut would work well in this too.
You may have tried my Ultimate Very Favorite Chicken Salad - Goi Ga- and though this is similar they are not the same.
This one is sweeter and being served in a lettuce cup is different than being served on a shrimp chip.
I did make up a small cabbage salad to mix with this. We took our lettuce cups and some of the cabbage salad and combined them on our plate.
A few extra slices of pineapple would have worked well too! These lettuce cups would be a wonderful appetizer but they also make a great light meal.
Learn how to poach chicken easily and you will find many ways to use it.
I poached mine in chicken broth and depending on what you are making feel free to add herbs and spices that work with the recipe you will be using them in.
And if you have tried both chicken salads I'd love to hear which you liked more!
And a Few More Chicken Salads:
Shredded Chicken Salad with Green Olives, Celery and Green Onion from Kalyn's Kitchen
Southern Style Chicken Salad from Melissa's Southern Style Kitchen
Curry Chicken Salad Sandwiches from Valerie's Kitchen
More Chicken Salads:
Blueberry Chicken Pesto Salad
Recipe
Asian Poached Chicken Pineapple Salad
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 Minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
- Category: Main Course/Salads/Appetizer
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
Ingredients
1 lb boneless and skinless chicken breasts
Chicken broth or water to cover
3 heaping Tablespoons of crushed pineapple, drained or 1 mango
½ c chopped fresh mint
½ c chopped cilantro
½ c torn Thai Basil leaves (yes there is a difference between Italian basil and Thai basil)
2 Thai or Jalapeno chilies, sliced thin
1 head Boston lettuce, leaves separated
3 c chopped cabbage
1 T mayonnaise
Chopped Peanuts and Fried Onions or Shallots for Garnish
3 T fresh squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)
1 minced shallot
2 T fish sauce
1 ½ T packed brown sugar
1 minced garlic clove
¼ to ½ t red pepper flakes
Instructions
Begin by poaching the chicken breasts. Place chicken breasts that have been slightly pounded in a pot. Cover with chicken broth or water and herbs and spices of your choice.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low so that the water is at a bare simmer. Partly cover and gently simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and allow the chicken to remain in hot liquid for 15 to 20 minutes. That is it! Now slice or shred for your recipe!
Make dressing by whisking all ingredients together in a large bowl.
Remove 2 T dressing and add 1 T mayonnaise and whisk well. Toss with the 3 c of shredded cabbage and set aside.
Add chicken, crushed pineapple, mint, cilantro, basil and chilies and toss to coat in the large bowl with the dressing. Spoon into lettuce cups. On a large platter, place cabbage salad in the middle and arrange lettuce cups around it. Garnish with fried onions or shallots and some chopped peanuts.
KalynsKitchen says
Sounds delicious! I am a big Thai Basil fan!
mjskit says
This is going to make a great summer salad with fresh picked herbs from the garden. YAY! Thanks!
SavoringTime in the Kitchen says
My kind of salad! This looks truly delicious, Abbe, and so flavorful.
kankana says
I love chicken with pineapple even on pizza! This is a great summer salad idea.
Gerlinde de Broekert says
There is nothing better than a good chicken salad, I love the addition of the pineapple.
Cakelaw says
Yes!!! I love pineapple in savoury dishes and this sounds fantastic.
Angie Schneider says
It reminds me of my favourite lettuce wraps. Love the combo with pineapple.
Liz Berg says
I'd be happy to eat this for my lunch day after day! It sounds wonderful!!!
Gloria Baker says
This looks wonderful!!
Kitchen Riffs says
We're having a chicken salad for dinner tonight! Not as good as this one, though -- wowzer, this looks wonderful. Shredded chicken has such interesting texture, doesn't it? This looks terrific -- thanks.
Chris Scheuer says
This looks wonderful, such a great twist on chicken slaad!