Curried Chicken Salad with Spiralized Cucumbers
Try this Curried Chicken Salad with Spiralized Cucumbers recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Curried Chicken Salad with Spiralized Cucumbers recipe, or contribute your own.
- salt
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast or 1 cup cubed c skip the first part of this recipe’s directions)
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt or vegan mayonnaise or mashed ripe av
- pepper (if using greek yogurt add in 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard as well)
- 1/4 heaping cup diced celery
- 1.5 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 tablespoon sliced almonds
- 1 tablespoon golden raisins
- 1/2 large english cucumber
- Carbohydrate 7.24893625098421 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 1.67052374872951 g
- Fiber 1.06887499678165 g
- Protein 1.34554687451651 g
- Saturated Fat 0.157825312406343 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (83g)
- Sodium 2.29637500020729 mg
- Sugar 6.18006125420256 g
- Trans Fat 0.130783437432336 g
- Calories 44 calories
Step-by-step
- Place the chicken in a saucepan or wide skillet and add water to cover. Salt the water and set over high heat and bring to a roaring simmer. Once roaring, lower heat to medium-low and let cook for 12-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and skin is no longer pink. Drain and cut into bite-sized cubes.
- While chicken cooks, prepare the curry mix: in the bottom of a medium mixing bowl, add the Greek yogurt (or vegan mayonnaise), salt, pepper, celery, curry powder, almonds, and raisins. Stir together well to combine. Set aside in the refrigerator while you wait for the chicken to finish.
- Spiralize the cucumber with Blade A and trim the noodles. Divide into two bowls and set aside.
- Once chicken is done, add it to the bowl with the curry seasoning and mix well to coat the chicken. Divide this prepared chicken mixture over the bowls with the cucumber noodles. Serve immediately.
Trading thick Greek yogurt for mashed avocado fundamentally alters the moisture distribution and fat content of the dressing, shifting the emulsion from dairy-ctuve protein binding to plant-based lipid coating. When poaching the chicken breast, maintain the water at a gentle simmer of roughly 185 degrees Fahrenheit rather than a violent boil; aggressive heat tightens muscle fibers rapidly, yielding chalky, dry meat that cannot absorb the curry spices effectively. Cool the cubed protein completely before tossing it with the vegetables to prevent the cucumber ribbons from releasing excess cellular water onto the plate.
Structural Chemistry of Emulsions
Curry powder contains fat-soluble compounds like curcumin that bond more efficiently when mixed directly into a lipid base like mayonnaise or full-fat yogurt rather than water-heavy purees. Dice the celery to a uniform thickness of one-eighth inch so the crisp texture distributes evenly without overpowering the tender chicken chunks.
- If substituting Greek yogurt with vegan mayonnaise, add half a teaspoon of Dijon mustard to supply the necessary acid balance that dairy naturally provides.
- Store dressed chicken salad in an airtight glass container at 38 degrees Fahrenheit for no longer than forty-eight hours to maintain cucumber structural integrity.
- Trim spiralized cucumber noodles thoroughly after cutting to remove excess surface moisture that dilutes the concentrated spice paste.
