This Asian Cold Noodle Salad with Poached Chicken is a fresh, vibrant dish that’s perfect for warm days or when you’re craving something light but satisfying. Tender, juicy slices of poached chicken are paired with crisp bell peppers, cool cucumber, crunchy salad greens, and scallions and cilantro. Everything is tossed together with silky rice noodles and a bold dressing made from ginger, sesame, soy sauce, and garlic — bringing a savory, tangy depth to every bite. It’s refreshing, nourishing, and packed with flavor, ideal for an easy lunch, dinner, or meal prep for the week ahead.
I used wider cut rice noodles in this because I love their chewy texture, but you can use any noodles you prefer. You could also leave the noodles out and just make it with chicken and veggies. I use tahini or sesame paste in this dressing, to give it a creamy texture and a rich flavor. You can buy tahini at the grocery store. If you are buying at an Asian market or online it can be labeled as Sesame Sauce sometimes as well.
If you like the sound of this tasty dish, check out some of my other Asian recipes as well.
Asian Cold Noodle Salad with Poached Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 whole chicken neck and organs removed
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 2 inch piece fresh ginger washed and sliced
- 2 scallions
For the dressing:
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 3 inch piece fresh ginger peeled and minced
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup tahini or sesame sauce
- garlic chili paste or Asian chili oil to taste (optional)
For the salad:
- 4 servings rice noodles cooked according to your package and then drained under cold water and tossed with a little sesame oil
- 4 mini cucumbers diced
- salad greens I used spring mix – to taste
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 2 carrots shredded
- 4 scallions sliced
- 1/2 cup cilantro diced
- bean sprouts optional (these are mung bean sprouts)
Instructions
- For the chicken: add a tbsp of oil to a stock pot over medium high heat. Add the chicken and allow the skin to brown for 1-2 minutes. Add water to cover along with the scallions, salt and ginger. Bring almost to a boil and then reduce to as low as you and can and cook for 1.5-2 hours, until the wings and thighs easily separate from the main body.
- Allow the stock and chicken to cook, then remove the meat and shred into big chunks. You can strain and freeze the stock for some delicious homemade chicken stock.
- Cook rice noodles according to the package and rinse with cold water. Drain them and toss with a bit of sesame oil, then portion them out into 4 bowls.
- Combine all the dressing ingredients well. Spoon a little dressing over the noodles in each bowl and toss. Add some of the chicken, lettuce, pepper, carrot, cucumber, scallion, sprouts if using and cilantro the the bowl and toss gently. Drizzle over some dressing a toss a little more. Serve cold with dressing on the side.