Drunken Chicken Salad
Submitted by Ronbo
Chinese-style drunken chicken salad marinated overnight in sherry, then served cold on red lettuce with toasted sesame seeds, cilantro, and scallions. Elegant, refreshing, and make-ahead friendly.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
30 minREADY
24 hrsDrunken chicken is a classic Chinese cold dish, and this salad version makes it effortlessly elegant. Cooked chicken breasts soak in sherry with a touch of salt and sugar for a full 24 hours, absorbing that boozy, slightly sweet flavor all the way through.
The next day, you just drain the chicken, lay it over a bed of red lettuce, and finish with toasted sesame seeds, fresh cilantro, and chopped scallions. No dressing needed. The sherry marinade seasons the meat so thoroughly that it stands on its own.
It’s the ideal make-ahead dish for warm weather entertaining or a light lunch that feels polished without any last-minute effort.
Pro Tips
- Use a dry sherry, not cooking sherry. Cooking sherry is loaded with salt and will overpower the delicate flavor you’re after.
- The full 24-hour marinade is worth the wait. Shortcutting it to a few hours won’t get the sherry flavor deep enough into the chicken.
- Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet until golden and fragrant. They burn fast, so shake the pan constantly and pull them off the heat the second they turn color.
Ingredients
Directions
Cut cooked chicken breasts in half.
Put in large bowl with wine, salt and sugar.
Toss, cover and marinate for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Next day drain off marinade.
Arrange lettuce leaves on serving platter; place chicken pieces in the center.
Sprinkle with sesame seed, cilantro leaves, and scallions.
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