Thai Chicken Salad is one of the favorite dishes served at Sugar Magnolias and has been a staple on their menu since they started. It is perfect when you grill the chicken while preparing the vinaigrette, which can be made and stored in your refrigerator for a week. It is considered to have a combination of "bright, balanced flavors" typical in much of Thai cooking.
For Salad:
4 cups chopped romaine
1/2 cup shredded carrot (for color optional)
1/2 chopped peanuts (salted or unsalted)
1/2 cup mandarin oranges
1/2 cup rice noodles (found in a can like chow mien noodles but thinner noodle and crunchier)
For Vinaigrette:
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 tsp ground ginger
1. In a blender start with your oil and peanut butter then blend.
2. Add honey and blend again.
3. Add remaining three ingredients - lime juice, rice wine vinegar, ground ginger.
4. Blend and set aside to assemble your salad.
5. Put all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, pour about 1/3 cup of dressing and toss serve right away with griied chicken, steak or salmon.
Recipe courtesy of Melissa Sallah, Sugar Magnolias, 2009.
Co-owner & Chef, Sugar Magnolias
Melissa has worked in restaurants since she was 14 years old and opened Sugar Magnolias in 2002. In addition to the restaurant they offer catering services. Boston Magazine named the restaurant the Best of Boston 2008 Breakfast, Neighborhood - North mainly due to the spicy carrot cake pancake - “verges on the stuff of legend.”
