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A fabulous Asian-inspired salad with lean chicken and coconut curry noodles; this Asian Chicken and Coconut Curry Noodle Salad is fresh, healthy and crazy-delicious!
This Asian Chicken and Coconut Curry Noodle Salad is a long-time favorite, here at The Café. It's funny, but when this dish is on the dinner menu, I'm excited all day. It's got all the flavors and textures that I love; sweet, salty, spicy, crunchy, fresh, crisp and just plain old crazy-delicious!
A super versatile whole meal salad
I love how adaptable this salad is as you can use peaches or nectarines in the summer when they're sweet and ripe or mangos in other seasons as they are readily available and delicious all year round.
I used butter lettuce this time for my Asian Chicken and Coconut Curry Noodle Salad but I've also made it with kale, arugula and green leaf lettuce; all wonderful substitutions. Sometimes I use leftover grilled chicken and other times rotisserie chicken comes to rescue. Steak or shrimp could be exchanged for the chicken and if you don't have a ripe avocado, just skip it! The salad will still be wonderful.
Then there are the noodles. You have lots of options here. Dry or fresh ramen are great options as are udon noodles or rice noodles. I've also used angel hair pasta with delicious results.
See what I mean? Super-versatile!
But don't substitute on the Asian Honey-Sesame Salad Dressing or the Coconut Curry Noodles. They're what take this salad right over the top.
I love having a jar of this delicious Asian Honey Sesame Salad Dressing stashed away in the refrigerator, as it goes well with so many ingredients, not to mention the zillion ways to use it (check it out here).
How do you make coconut curry noodles?
The Coconut Curry Noodles are incredibly delicious and super simple to throw together. While you're boiling water for the pasta, throw some coconut milk and a scoop of green curry paste in a saucepan. Bring it to a simmer and cook until it's reduced in half. By the time your pasta's done, it will be thick, fragrant and ready to combine with noodles. The sweet/spicy sauce will be absorbed by the noodles, and you'll find yourself snitching one little delicious taste after another.
Much of the salad can be prepped ahead of time making it the perfect, healthy dinner for busy evenings. Want to be excited all day about dinner? Put this Asian Chicken and Coconut Curry Noodle Salad on your menu. And, if there's an extra chair at your table, save it for me!
Café Tips for making this Asian Chicken and Coconut Curry Noodle Salad
- You'll probably have more dressing than you need, but it's wonderful on just about any kind of salad and we also love it drizzled over grilled salmon and chicken.
- Field greens, green leaf lettuce, arugula, kale or spinach will also work well in this salad.
- Use basil, cilantro and/or mint for this salad. They all work well. I love to use all three, if I have them, for lots of fresh flavor.
- Cashews are also wonderful on this salad, in lieu of peanuts.
- Rotisserie chicken, grilled chicken breast or leftover roasted chicken would all work well for this salad.
- To make ahead, prepare the coconut curry noodles and store in the refrigerator. Make the dressing and cut up the chicken. Then simply warm the noodles a bit and put everything together right before serving. Delicious and so refreshing!
Thought for the day:
If my people, who are called by my name,
will humble themselves and pray and seek my face
and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven,
and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
What we're listening to for inspiration:
If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear other’s results and ideas for variations.
- ¾ cup light coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon yellow, red or green curry paste
- 8 ounces fresh ramen noodles, Udon noodles, rice noodles or angel hair pasta
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt to taste
- 6 cups Bib or butter lettuce
- 3 cups diced cooked chicken breast leftover or rotisserie
- 2 large ripe avocados peeled, pitted and diced
- 3 medium peaches or nectarines, diced you can also use 2 medium mangos, peeled, cored and diced
- Asian Honey-Sesame Salad Dressing
- ½ cup salted peanuts coarsely chopped
- fresh basil, cilantro and/or mint leaves for garnish
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Combine coconut milk and curry paste in a medium-size pot. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to maintain a steady simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until reduced by one half. Set aside.
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Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt and angel hair pasta. Stirring frequently, cook for 3-4 minutes or until noodles are al dente.
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Once noodles are cooked, drain well and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss with 2 forks to coat pasta with oil. Transfer to a medium-size bowl and add the coconut milk/curry mixture. Toss again with forks till noodles are coated then cover lightly with plastic wrap and set aside. Allow to sit for 30 minutes before serving for the pasta to absorb liquid. Taste and add a pinch of sea salt if needed.
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Place lettuce on a large platter or divide between 6 large salad bowls or plates. Arrange nectarines, chicken, avocado and pasta in rows on top of lettuce. Drizzle lightly with the Asian Honey-Sesame Salad Dressing then scatter the chopped peanuts and fresh basil over the top. Pass extra dressing at the table.
See notes in post for ingredient substitutions. Calories do not include dressing. See the Asian Honey-Sesame Salad Dressing post for that nutritional information.
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