Fusion Cuisine

I do not generally like chicken salad. 

Really, I kind of cringe at the thought of it. Maybe it's because there is always some nasty, mayo-coated surprise inside that I don't like or can't identify. But when I saw this recipe for Korean Chicken Salad, I decided to give it a try.

I love the look and feel of the blog, Beyond Kimchee. I like that the author, Holly, gives step-by-step instructions with pictures. That's pure gold!


OK. So I ran into a little trouble while making this. So I had to make some changes, but it was still really good. I may try it again and try to follow the recipe as is.


The chicken poached beautifully, as Holly promised. I had to peel the cucumber because my husband will not eat the skin of any veggie or fruit. I used my grapefruit spoon to dig out the seeds.

My Grapefruit Spoon has Teeth.

I was having great fun chopping away with my new Kiwi knife that I picked up at the Wok Shop.

Kiwi Knife

Now, I had my onion, chicken and cucumber nicely chopped. And the cucumber had been salted and drained, per instructions. It looked great. (Sorry no pic. I was too excited and hungry....)

Time to make the dressing.

This is where I started to run into trouble. I know: You're supposed to follow directions, right? Well, I think my sesame seeds had seen better days (i.e. I think they were rancid.) Also, I didn't have any Korean mustard so I made a substitution with regular dry mustard. I don't really know if that made a difference. Well, my dressing was YUCKY!  I was hungry so I had to regroup... So, I went to the fridge.....

OH!  I had some left over vinaigrette* from when I made an Onion Tarte Tatin (Yes, it was delish! I should blog on that next!) 

I grabbed it and tossed it in. Not bad! In fact, it was pretty darn good. It was even better the next day.

We served it on beds of crisp lettuce leaves. 

*Vinaigrette

Whisk together:

1/2 c. Balsamic Vinegar

1/4 c. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 c. Light Brown Sugar (packed)

Salt and Fresh ground pepper, to taste

Now, I had used this to dip the onions in before placing in my onion tart, so it had a kind of onion-y flavor. I don't think it matters much since you have onions in your chicken salad. Also, you should add a little at a time until you 'dress' your salad as you like it. There may be too much. 

Chicken Salad on Day 2

Now, I have to plan a trip to the Asian grocery store to pick up some Korean mustard powder & some new sesame seeds.