Juicy Chicken and Asian Pear Salad

Cook Omnivoraciously
by Cook Omnivoraciously
2 servings
40 min

This salad recipe is so so simple and ripe for a meal prep! All you need to do is roast the broccoli, toast the sunflower seeds, make the dressing, and cook the flavorful chicken thighs ahead of time. If you do make the dressing ahead of time, store them in an airtight container in the fridge!


If you can find Asian pear, I really recommend you get it. It’s a bigger, WAYYY juicier and crisper cousin of the non-Asian variety. The really good ones should burst with juice as soon as you bite into it. I’ve seen fancier grocery stores (like co-ops and Whole Foods) carry smaller ones but if you live near a Korean grocery store, they have the bestest and the biggest ones, shipped in straight from Korea. Trust me, the Asian pears are vastly different and makes a difference in the salad! It’s not one of those things where you went out of the way to find an ingredient only to find you can’t really taste the difference.


If you cannot find it near you, you can use conventional pears or apples instead. I think honeycrisp apples would be really nice here! Or you can use pomegranate seeds! Pomegranate won’t provide the crispy crunch but the sweetness will play nicely with everything.


Juicy Chicken and Asian Pear Salad
Recipe details
  • 2  servings
  • Prep time: 10 Minutes Cook time: 30 Minutes Total time: 40 min
Show Nutrition Info
Hide Nutrition Info
Ingredients
Roasted broccoli
  • 1 head broccoli crown, cut into small pieces
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • olive oil, enough to coat the broccoli
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
Chicken
  • 2 boneless and skinless chicken thighs You can use chicken breasts but I love how juicy chicken thighs are
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp paprika
Salad assembly
  • 1 head heart of romaine, chopped into bite-sized pieces or romaine
  • 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
  • half Asian pear, peeled and diced
Sesame Soy Sauce Dressing
  • 2 tsp soy sauce if you're using low-sodium, add more salt to taste
  • 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 3 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
Roasted broccoli and Toasted Sunflower Seeds
Preheat oven to 425F.
Sprinkle salt and drizzle olive oil over the broccoli. Put broccoli in a roasting pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.
In a separate and very dry pan, put the sunflower seeds. On another oven rack, put in the sunflower seeds and toast for 3-5 minutes, until the seeds are golden brown.
Take out the broccoli and sunflower seeds. Let it cool. You can do this ahead of time and store in an airtight container in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the salad.
Sesame Oil and Soy Sauce Dressing
Mix all the ingredients together. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the salad
Chicken
Mix the salt, garlic powder, and the paprika together Sprinkle over both sides of the chicken thighs. Set the coated chicken thighs in the fridge for an hour so the spices penetrate the chicken.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat, pour enough cooking oil, enough to barely coat the pan. When the oil is shimmering, place the chicken thighs in the pan. Cook on one side for 5 minutes then flip. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until the thermometer reads 160F.
Once chicken is ready, turn off the stove and set the chicken on a cutting board and let it rest for five minutes.
Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Assemble salad
Add all the ingredients together and drizzle dressing to taste.
Cook Omnivoraciously
Want more details about this and other recipes? Check out more here!
Go
Comments
Next