Chicken Salad Chinois

Chicken salad chinois borrows its name from the French word for Chinese, and the dressing tells you everything you need to know about its leanings. Yogurt stands in for the usual mayonnaise base, kept light and tangy with soy sauce, ground ginger, and just a pinch of sweetener to balance the salt. The result is an Asian-leaning chicken salad that lands at a fraction of the calorie count of the deli classic.

Cooked chicken pairs with chopped zucchini and crisp radishes for crunch and color. The salad needs at least two hours in the fridge after dressing, which lets the ginger bloom into the yogurt and the chicken absorb all that savory flavor. Serve it over a bed of shredded lettuce for an easy, packable lunch.

It also works well for leftover roast chicken or rotisserie meat. The dressing is bright enough to revive even slightly dry leftover chicken into something fresh and worth eating again.

Pro Tips

• Use full-fat Greek yogurt for a thicker, creamier dressing if you’re not watching the fat. Otherwise the 2% works fine and keeps it diet-friendly.
• Grate fresh ginger instead of using ground for a sharper, more aromatic dressing. About a half teaspoon grated equals the powdered amount.
• Salt the chopped zucchini in a colander for 10 minutes and squeeze out the excess liquid before mixing. This stops the salad turning watery overnight.
• Skip the artificial sweetener and use a teaspoon of honey or maple syrup if you prefer real sugar.

Variations

• Stir in toasted sesame seeds and a handful of chopped scallions for more textural and visual punch.
• Add a small handful of mandarin orange segments for a sweeter, more retro chicken salad vibe.
• Wrap the dressed salad in butter lettuce leaves with crispy rice noodles for a low-carb lunch upgrade.