I think it’s funny that bowls are having a moment. Considering that people have been eating things out of bowls since about the Stone Age. Now we’re told that everything tastes better when served in a bowl, which can’t be true – but there is something about a bowl, I can’t deny it. Aesthetically speaking, a meal served in a bowl looks so cute and tidy with everything cuddled up together in its cozy round nest. And then there’s the portability, the way you can cradle a bowl in one palm, wield your utensil (fork or spoon, your choice) in the other hand, and curl up wherever you like, no table necessary. Head off to the couch or a park bench with this Cashew Chicken Salad Bowl, my fresh and veggie-packed riff on the classic Chinese dish.
All of my favorite elements of the original dish are here: tender chicken, crunchy meaty cashews and chewy brown rice. The dressing brings all the flavors of a stir-fry sauce – soy, sesame and ginger, with rice vinegar and lime for bite, miso for creamy depth, and honey for a touch of sweetness.
Fresh spinach makes a healthy foundation and an ideal vehicle for more of the salty-sweet dressing. Slices of Persian cucumber are cool and juicy. The ingredient that you might find surprising? Chopped dates. Sweet and chewy, they do double duty adding both flavor and texture to this salad. If you’re familiar with my Salad Matrix, you know how important it is for a salad to have balance, with all of the elements complementing one another and each one adding something to the mix. This Cashew Chicken Salad Bowl checks off all the boxes.
Making this ahead and what to do with leftovers:
- Individual elements of this salad can (and in some cases must) be made ahead. Make the rice far enough ahead to give it time to cool before assembling the salad (up to several days ahead). Cook the chicken ahead and let it cool, or make it easy on yourself and use the breast meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken. The dressing can be made up to a week ahead.
- Assemble and dress the salad immediately before serving.
- Leftover dressing will keep for a week in the fridge.
Interested in other salad ideas? I didn’t label any of these other main dish salads as “bowls” but they absolutely fit the definition:
- Baby Greens with Chicken and Goat Cheese
- Not Quite Nicoise
- Chili Chicken Chopped Salad
- Spinach Salad with Bacon, Egg and Mustard Vinaigrette
- Italian Pasta Salad
Cashew Chicken Salad Bowl
Ingredients
- For each salad:
- 1½ ounces baby spinach, about 2 cups loosely packed
- 2 to 3 tablespoons Soy-Sesame dressing, divided (recipe follows)
- 1 cup cooked, cooled brown rice
- 4 ounces cooked, cooled chicken breast, sliced or chopped
- Half a Persian cucumber, sliced on the diagonal, or other type of cucumber sliced to equal 1/3 cup
- 1 ounce (about ¼ cup) cashews, whole or in pieces
- ½ ounce chopped dates (about 1½ tablespoons/2 dates)
- 1 scallion, white and light green parts, thinly sliced on the diagonal
Directions
- Step 1 Toss the spinach with ½ to 1 tablespoon of the dressing, to your taste, and arrange it in one half of a single-serving sized salad bowl.
- Step 2 Toss the brown rice with another ½ to 1 tablespoon of the dressing, to your taste, and arrange it in the other side of the bowl, so that the rice and spinach completely cover the bottom of the bowl and meet in the middle.
- Step 3 Arrange the chicken, cucumber slices, cashews and dates over the rice and spinach.
- Step 4 Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the dressing over the salad, or more to taste. Sprinkle with the sliced scallion.
Soy-Sesame Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic, minced, about 1 teaspoon
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, or 1/8 teaspoon Morton’s
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon miso paste
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste or grated fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- ¼ cup neutral oil such as expeller-pressed canola oil
Directions
- Step 1 Add the salt to the minced garlic on your cutting board and mince them together until the garlic is very finely minced, then use the side of your knife to mash the garlic into a smooth paste. Transfer the garlic paste to a liquid measuring cup or small bowl.
- Step 2 Add the rice vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce, miso paste, honey and ginger and whisk to combine.
- Step 3 Whisk in the sesame oil, then the canola oil until the dressing is combined and smooth.
