Healthy zesty chicken quinoa salad made with poached chicken, fragrant herbs and crunchy carrot and cucumber. Given a final drizzle with a flavourful orange and chili dressing. Boring salads stand aside!

round bowl with chicken quinoa salad and a wooden fork resting on top

Salads are healthy for us, we all know that. But if you are like me, sitting down to a bowl of salad for dinner isn’t always enticing.

This recipe is healthy but is also packed full of flavour and texture. Texture is key for me!

If you want to cut preparation time, don't overlook the use of a ready bought roast/bbq chicken. Use the breast portion and remove the skin.

Ingredients to Poach Chicken

I give the poaching liquid a Chinese flavour twist. These are the flavours and aromatics I generally use to poach chicken. Don't worry they are subtle and I feel infuse the chicken beautifully.

Ginger - fresh ginger adds a hint of spice and gorgeous fragrance.
Garlic - a great aromatic, but the bruised cloves add only a subtle flavour, not overpowering the delicate chicken.
Shaoxing Wine - Chinese cooking wine, you can easily substitute dry sherry.
Dark Soy Sauce - adds a bit more of a salty umami kick than regular soy, but of course, you can use straight soy sauce if you have it.
Dried Chili - using a whole dried chili adds flavour without heat.

Core Ingredients Zesty Chicken Quinoa Salad

All the ingredients in my zesty chicken quinoa salad are fresh, healthy and delicious.

Chicken Breast - I recommend chicken breast as it is the leanest cut of chicken, see my additional notes below.
Mixed Quinoa - a mix of red, black and white quinoa, of course, you can use your preferred type.
Carrot - adds a sweet crunch.
Lebanese Cucumber – thin skin, minimal seeds and crunchy. You can also use English or Persian cucumbers.
Spring Onions - also known as scallions, add a mild fresh onion flavour.
Mint - adds an interesting and lively twist
Coriander - also known as cilantro, haters, feel free to omit.

Ingredients for the final touch, orange dressing

The orange dressing is free from additional oil or fat but packs a flavour punch!

Palm Sugar - adds a caramel note to the dressing, brown sugar can be substituted.
Red Wine Vinegar - a little fragrant acidity punch.
Chicken Stock Powder - gives the dressing a deeper fuller flavour.
Orange Juice - fresh and fruity, use freshly squeezed if possible.
Star Anise - an Asian spice that ties the dressing back to the poaching liquid.
Garlic - adds flavour, and will be strained out after cooking to not overpower the dressing.
Chili - a little heat for those who like it, can be omitted.

Is Chicken Breast Best?

Chicken breast is my recommendation as it is the leanest part of the chicken and my choice for this recipe. It does have a tendency to dry out, but as you will be poaching it, it will be moist and delicious.

Chicken thigh is not recommended as it will be too fatty. Thigh fillets are wonderful for grilling and the BBQ. That little extra fat flavours and aids keeping the piece of chicken juicy and tender.

If you want to speed up this recipe, you can always pick up a BBQ/roast chicken at your local supermarket. Break the chicken apart and use the breast part, removing skin and any bones.

How to make fluffy quinoa?

Firstly you should rinse your quinoa. Place it in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse under cold water for around 30 seconds. Agitate the quinoa with your fingers as you rinse. This will remove any saponin present. Saponin is a natural insecticide that coats the outside of quinoa seeds. It can make your cooked quinoa taste bitter or soapy.
Use double the amount of water to quinoa. In this recipe I use one cup of quinoa, therefore two cups of water to cook it.
A heavy-based pot with a lid is a must. But unlike most recipes, I do not cook my quinoa covered. It only gets covered in the final steps. Place quinoa and water in your pot, bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes. If you are cooking a larger amount of quinoa the cooking time will increase. Less quinoa the cooking time will decrease.
Then simply take the pot off the heat, cover with a lid and leave the quinoa to steam in the residual heat for five minutes. Fluff with a fork, and you will have perfect quinoa.

How long does cooked quinoa last?

If you decide to cook extra quinoa or find you made too much, it does keep well in the fridge. Cooked quinoa will keep for up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge. Alternatively you can freeze it for 8 - 12 months.

I use the Sunbeam FoodSaver system at home. This extends the life of my cooked quinoa in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Other Recipes You'll Love

Quinoa Tabouli Salad - gluten-free and vegan
Cashew Cauliflower Falafel - baked not fried
Baked Maple Garlic Chicken Thigh Fillets - easy no-fuss mid-week meal
Teriyaki Chicken Burgers - when you don't know what to cook for dinner

The Origin of this Recipe

This recipe originally appeared on Belly Rumbles March 19 2014. It has had a solid re-write to make it more useful for you to make the salad. In the original post, there was quite a lot written about my then dog Sally, and not much about the salad. She was going through a battle with cancer at the time.

The salad eventuated due to a disastrous effort to make quinoa rice paper rolls. We will call it an epic fail.

I was over messing around and all the ingredients were thrown into a bowl. As all I wanted to do at the time was snuggle my girl after bringing her home from the vet that day.

Sadly Sally passed away in 2015, but this recipe lives on. It has turned in to a family favourite and the reason why it deserves a place on Belly Rumbles.

Sara xxx

Zesty Chicken Quinoa Salad