Ani's Kitchen Stories

This creamy and delicious Chicken Salad with Mandarin Orange can be your favourite go to salad on any given day. Especially when sweet mandarin oranges are flooded in the market. The salad is so flavourful, refreshing and delightful that once you make it, there’s no stopping you from making it again and again.

I like salad and I always love exploring salads in cafés and restaurants. Recently, in one of my favourite oriental restaurant, I had this Mandarin Orange salad. It was delightfully delicious. As soon as I took a bite of it, the cool refreshing salad felt so good and I was simply guessing what all must have went in the salad.

So here’s my take on this creamy Chicken Salad with Mandarin orange.

You can always tweak the original recipe with your own preferred or available ingredients and adjust the seasonings of your choice. The taste may not be exactly the same but it’ll definitely hit the spot.

To get the creamy salad mixture, I’ve used mayonnaise and dijon mustard. This two combined together brings out the ultimate taste and flavour. You can even add hung curd or cream cheese which also brings out the creamy texture.

Here I’ve used red bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, lettuce and spring onion. You can add any salad veggies of your choice like cabbage, carrot, spinach, celery etc.

Also adding a good quality olive oil makes a great difference in the flavour and taste.

Ingredients:

Serves(2-3) Prep time: 20-25minutes

For the salad:

• 1 cup cooked shredded chicken (boiled/roasted/grilled)

• 1 cup mandarin orange (3-4 oranges) 

• 2 cups iceberg lettuce or romaine, roughly chopped 

• ½ red bell pepper, finely diced

• 5-6 cherry or candy tomatoes 

• 2 stalks spring onions chopped

• Freshly crushed black pepper

• Salt to taste 

• 1 tbsp olive oil 

For the creamy dressing:

• 3 tbsp Mayonnaise

• 2 tsp Dijon mustard 

• Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil 

Method:

1. Here, I’ve used boiled chicken. You can use grilled or roasted chicken as well. Shred the boiled chicken and in a tablespoon of olive oil pan fry it for 3-4 mins. Adjust salt and pepper. (If you’re using grilled or roasted chicken skip the pan fry) Let it cool. 

2. While the chicken is getting cooled, chop the bell pepper, spring onion, lettuce and slice the tomatoes. 

3. In a large bowl combine shredded chicken, chopped bell pepper and spring onion. Add mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, crushed pepper and gently mix until coated.

4. Now gently add the chopped lettuce and tomatoes on the chicken salad bowl. Toss well. 

5. Scatter mandarin oranges over the salad for freshness and sweetness.

6. Chill for 10–15 minutes before serving for best flavour. Serve it on a plate and enjoy. 

Notes:

Add toasted almonds or cashews for extra crunch.

Swap mayo with hung curd for a lighter version.

A drizzle of sesame oil gives a subtle Asian-inspired twist.