Easy, healthy Japanese chicken salad enhanced with miso and sesame!
I first met Nancy Hachisu in Mexico at our very first Food Blogger Camp that a few of us hosted back in 2010. What surprised me was not that she attended, but that she flew all the way from Japan to come and hang out with us. It gave me kick in the pants, “You best deliver a killer event, Jaden!” And we did, because she came back the following year.
Ever since then, I’ve been lucky to see Nancy at least once a year, sometimes twice, at food conferences. Those conferences are like reunions for us bloggers – giddy hugs, wine glasses clinking and catching up in person on all the exciting things happening.
Nancy has been working on her very first cookbook for the past couple of years. I remember in Seattle seeing her very first cookbook photos shot by a famous Japanese photographer over lunch. I’m proud to say that her book, Japanese Farm Food, has just come out.
Nancy, a native of California, traveled to Japan and fell in love with an organic farmer. They married and now run an English immersion school at their rural farmhouse. That’s the 2 sentence version of their love story, and I hate to tell you more because you really should read the wonderful story that Nancy has written in the book.
I own and have-owned over 1,000 cookbooks (I have given the majority of them away) — I’ll be absolutely honest and tell you that Nancy’s book is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. From the fabric binding, lovely photos and Nancy’s stories, it’s a treasure. Oh, and the recipes! Simple Japanese farm food featuring produce from their garden, eggs from their chickens and trips to the local market.
***
Chicken Salad with Sesame-Miso Dressing Recipe Video
Chicken Salad with Sesame-Miso Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound thin sliced chicken tenderloin
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium miso paste or 2 tablespoons Miso & Easy
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 small heads of butter lettuce, leaves torn
FOR THE SESAME-MISO DRESSING:
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon low sodium miso paste or 2 tablespoons Miso & Easy
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 4 tablespoons rapeseed, grapeseed, rice or olive oil
Instructions
- Turn oven to broil (high) and place rack 8" below heating element. Slice the chicken breast into thick strips. Combine the sake, ginger, miso and salt. Toss the chicken strips into the mixture. Place chicken on a baking pan. Broil for 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- In the meantime, add the sesame seeds to a frying pan and roast over medium-high heat while shaking the pan to avoid burning the seeds. When the seeds start to pop, remove from the heat.
- Reserve 1 teaspoon of the toasted seeds and set aside.
- For the dressing, slide the remaining seeds into a Japanese grinding bowl or mortar and grind roughly. Mash in the miso to form a thick paste and add the vinegar to lighten (and brighten) the miso-sesame mixture. Whisk in the oil slowly until emulsified. (Be sure to whisk again right before dressing your salad.)
- Toss the lettuce with the dressing. Place the chicken on top of the lettuce and sprinkle with the reserved toasted sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
Notes
In an effort to curb food waste and encourage adding variety to your diet, we’ve come up with a Buddha Bowl initiative.
Buddha bowls always have their place at the table, whether you’re repurposing leftovers from this recipe or making them for the first time.
It’s basically a big bowl full of whole foods, mostly vegetables, atop a bed of grains – super customizable for any meal and anybody!
Use these easy tips to turn this Chicken Salad with Sesame-Miso Dressing recipe into a Buddha Bowl!
Make your bed! |
Add a base of quick-cooking grains, rice, or noodles. | Quinoa, Bulgur Wheat, Farro, Freekeh, Rice, Rice noodles, Zucchini “noodles” |
Make some friends! |
Place a serving of the chicken on top. | On either side, arrange a handful of any veggies you have on hand: Anything from basic salad greens, tomatoes, carrots, and cucumber, to sliced radishes, shredded cabbage, grated daikon, pickled red onions, stir-fried mushrooms, and roasted sweet potatoes. |
Make it rain! |
Drizzle any sauce/flavorings from the recipe atop the dish. | Sprinkle something crunchy on top – tempura scraps, toasted panko, nuts, fried onions, seeds, pickled ginger bits, scallions, etc! |
Usually a dead giveaway for a Buddha Bowl is how colorful it is, but it’s all up to you. There’s more than one way to enjoy this Chicken Salad with Miso-Sesame Dressing recipe!
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
Stay in touch with me in our 
Does Nancy have a blog?
Gosh! I feel hungry just by reading your post. I’ll definitely share this with the kids and I’m sure they’ll enjoy eating it! Yum!
Thats a lot of great pictures for one post.
HCG Injections
Yum! Thanks to you, Jaden, I am ADDICTED to Miso & Easy! This salad look delicious I hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving!
All of sudden I am hungry for chicken salad! Sounds like a great cookbook.
I made this dressing for cooked green beans and I couldn’t stop eating them!
This salad is soo delicious!! I was so surprised how moist and flavorful the chicken was – Such a simple way to prepare it!! Another favorite!! 🙂 That book will definitely be on my list as well~
After reading your description of Nancy’s story, I’ll be putting her book on my Christmas wish list. I love the simplicity of flavor in this recipe.
What a delightful idea for chicken! I like how you make it seem so easy and yet this is a chicken-veggie meal in one. My family will love this! Must try it & must get this book by Nancy! Thanks for sharing, Jaden!
Looks delish! (and gluten free too:)
What a great way to get the most flavor out of sesame seeds! Nice video and glad to hear book #2 is coming out.
This is by far the most gorgeous salad I’ve ever seen. Very colorful and crispy! I can’t wait to read the rest of Nancy’s recipes!
This looks like such a beautiful dish. I can’t wait to see the cookbook!
Beautiful salad – I love Asian salads! Looks delicious!