Coconut Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

This is just a nice a light salad for a week night or maybe even lunch. It comes together pretty easily and all the flavors really work well together. You can bake the chicken to lighten it up even more but I prefer a quick pan-fry.

I marinated my chicken in coconut milk, ginger and soy and it ended up really moist and juicy.

Coconut Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

(from here)

Marinade (4 hours to overnight):

1 can coconut milk

4 scallions, chopped

1 inch of ginger, chopped

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 lime, juiced

Chicken:

8 (about 16 oz) chicken tenderloins

1/3 cup egg substitute or egg whites

2 tbsp crushed cornflake crumbs

1/4 cup panko crumbs

6 tbsp shredded coconut

pinch salt

Salad:

6 cups mixed baby greens

3/4 cup shredded carrots

1 large tomato, sliced

1 small cucumber, sliced

Vinaigrette:

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp white vinegar

2 tsp dijon mustard

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I started my chicken marinating in the morning. Just chop up the scallions and ginger in big chunks as we're going to discard them later.

Squeeze out the air and stash in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight).

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When you're ready to eat, get your breading station together. 

I used egg whites from Trader Joe's as an experiment. You can just use regular eggs if you want.

Put 1/3 cup in a dish:

Now, your coating.

2 tablespoons crushed cornflakes. I just crushed 2 large handfuls of cornflakes to get this amount. 

You can use regular breadcrumbs if you want. 

Add 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs.

...and 6 tablespoons shredded coconut.

Add a pinch of salt.

Mix well to combine.

Drain your marinade from the chicken.

Discard the scallions and ginger.

Your station is ready.

 I debated rinsing the chicken, but it worked out fine just dunking them in the egg whites.

Place in the coating.

Flip and toss to coat well.

Place the chicken into a non-stick pan over medium/high heat with a thin layer of oil. 

Continue for the rest of the tenders if you can fit them. If not, work in batches.

Cook for about 5 minutes or until they have browned nicely on the bottom.

Flip and continue to cook until they are firm and done. Use a thermometer if you are unsure (160-165F).

Cut the chicken into chunks .

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The vinaigrette comes together really quickly. 

Combine 1 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp white vinegar and 2 tsp dijon mustard and whisk to combine.

Done!

Serve the salad with shredded carrots, tomatos and cucumbers.

Overall, the chicken/honey mustard vinaigrette combo was awesome. The sweetness of the chicken with the crunchy exterior was a nice marriage to the tart vinaigrette.

Like I said, this is a pretty light meal, so if you're starving, make a double batch. 

Enjoy!