Chicken Salad With Avocado, Corn, and Miso Dressing Recipe (2024)

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Mix up your classic chicken salad with this summery variation.

By

J. Kenji López-Alt

Chicken Salad With Avocado, Corn, and Miso Dressing Recipe (1)

J. Kenji López-Alt

Culinary Consultant

Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.

Learn about Serious Eats'Editorial Process

Updated May 01, 2023

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Chicken Salad With Avocado, Corn, and Miso Dressing Recipe (2)

Why It Works

  • Cooking the chicken sous-vide allows you to cook it to a lower temperature than traditional methods, guaranteeing moister meat while maintaining food safety standards.
  • Adding aromatics to the sous-vide bags packs the chicken with flavor before you even begin to dress it.

The other day I discovered that the secret to making the best chicken salad is to cook that chicken in a sealed bag, packing the bag with aromatics that will give the chicken flavor before it even gets dressed. The method works great ina classic mayo-based chicken salad, but I hate to see a good technique relegated to one single use, so I decided to adapt it a bit.

Sous-vide chicken comes out so tender and juicy that it almost reminds me of fatty sashimi-grade tuna on your tongue. With that as inspiration, I started with the flavors of a Japanesenuta, a simple dish of tuna with a creamy dressing made with miso and mirin. I tried messing around with yuzu juice and Japanese-style Kewpie mayo but found both flavors to be a little overwhelming. Instead I opted for a pinch of hot Japanese mustard andshichimi togarashi(a Japanese seven spice blend made primarily with chili, black sesame seeds, nori, and dried orange peel) along with plain old lemon juice.

For the actual chicken, I stuck with the method I'd developed for my classic chicken salad, bagging bone-in skin-on chicken breasts with some aromatics (in this case scallions and ginger) and cooking it at 150°F for one hour to yield meat that is firm yet incredibly tender and juicy.

I often fold in a bit of avocado with my tuna nuta and that worked just as well in this chicken version. I also liked it with some sweet corn folded in. I tried cooking the corn two ways: boiled plain in salted water vs. sautéing until lightly browned. The latter won out in the end, adding a sweet nuttiness to the mix. For kicks I also tried microwaving the corn in a small bowl and accidentally discovered that if you microwave corn for long enough, it browns and sweetens very much as if you'd sautéed it! This is a trick that definitely merits some more thorough testing. I'll report back later in the summer.

In the meantime, this salad will do well to tide you over.

June 2015

This recipe was cross-tested in 2022 and lightly updated to guarantee best results. For slightly firmer chicken that's still juicy and tender, we increased the sous-vide temperature from 150º to 155ºF.

Recipe Details

Chicken Salad With Avocado, Corn, and Miso Dressing

Prep15 mins

Cook60 mins

Active20 mins

Resting Time15 mins

Total90 mins

Serves4 servings

  • 1 3/4 pounds whole bone-in, skin-on split chicken breast halves (2 to 3 breast halves)

  • 1 1/2 teaspoon (4.5g) kosher salt, plus more as needed; for table salt, use half as much by volume

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 medium (3 ounces; 80g) lemon

  • 4 whole scallions (3 ounces; 80g), 2 roughly chopped (1/3 cup), 2 thinly sliced (1/3 cup), plus more for garnish

  • One 1-inch knob ginger (1/2 ounce; 15 g), thinly sliced

  • 1 tablespoon white or 2 teaspoons yellow miso paste

  • 1 tablespoon juice from one lemon

  • 2 teaspoons mirin

  • 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard, preferably Japanese

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 small clove garlic, minced (about 1/2 teaspoon)

  • 1/2 teaspoon shichimi togarashi, plus more for garnish

  • 3/4 cup fresh corn kernels cut from 2 ears sweet corn

  • 1 (6 ounces; 170g) whole avocado cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 3/4 cup)

Directions

  1. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper. Slice 1 lemon into 1/8- to 1/4-inch slices. Place chicken in zipper-lock bags or vacuum bags and add whole roughly chopped scallions and ginger. Remove air from zipper-lock bags by closing the bags, leaving the last inch of the top unsealed. Slowly lower into a pot of water, sealing the bag completely just before it fully submerges. If using a vacuum bag, seal according to manufacturer instructions.

    Chicken Salad With Avocado, Corn, and Miso Dressing Recipe (3)

  2. If Cooking in a Sous-Vide Precision Cooker: Preheat a sous-vide cooker to 155°F. Add chicken and cook for at least 1 hour and up to 4. Transfer to an ice bath and let chill for 15 minutes.

    Chicken Salad With Avocado, Corn, and Miso Dressing Recipe (4)

  3. If Cooking in a Cooler: Heat 2 quarts of water in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it registers 160°F on an instant-read thermometer. Transfer to a small cooler, add chicken, and seal cooler. Cook for at least 1 hour and up to 4, topping up with boiling water as necessary to maintain temperature of 155°F. Transfer to an ice bath and let chill for 15 minutes.

  4. Combine miso, lemon juice, mirin, mustard, olive oil, garlic, and togarashi in a large bowl and whisk until hom*ogenous.

    Chicken Salad With Avocado, Corn, and Miso Dressing Recipe (5)

  5. Place corn in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high power until cooked through and just starting to brown, about 1 minute. Alternatively, cook in a non-stick skillet with 1 teaspoon vegetable oil over medium-high heat until just starting to brown, about 4 minutes. Add to bowl with dressing.

    Chicken Salad With Avocado, Corn, and Miso Dressing Recipe (6)

  6. When chicken is cooked, remove from bags and discard scallions and ginger. Remove skin and bones from chicken and discard. Cut meat into 1/2-inch cubes and add to bowl with dressing. Add avocado. Add sliced scallions. Toss chicken to coat in dressing and season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, garnish with scallions and togarashi.

    Chicken Salad With Avocado, Corn, and Miso Dressing Recipe (7)

Special Equipment

Sous vide precision cooker or a small beer cooler

Notes

Shichimi togarashi is a Japanese seven spice blend that can be found in any Japanese supermarket. If unavailable, replace with a small pinch of cayenne pepper and a 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest.

Read More

  • The Food Lab's Complete Guide to Sous Vide Chicken Breast
  • Japanese
  • Sous Vide
  • Chicken Breast
  • Avocado
  • Corn
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
565Calories
17g Fat
42g Carbs
67g Protein

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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories565
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 17g22%
Saturated Fat 3g17%
Cholesterol 169mg56%
Sodium 791mg34%
Total Carbohydrate 42g15%
Dietary Fiber 10g37%
Total Sugars 16g
Protein 67g
Vitamin C 135mg674%
Calcium 115mg9%
Iron 4mg24%
Potassium 1255mg27%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Chicken Salad With Avocado, Corn, and Miso Dressing Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is miso salad dressing made of? ›

Similarly, this homemade miso dressing is made of simple Asian pantry items such as miso, rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and fresh ginger. A little bit of grated ginger lends a refreshing zing and a kick to this savory dressing. Miso (味噌), a salty-savory Japanese condiment, is fermented soybean paste.

What is chicken salad dressing made of? ›

Most chicken salad dressings are a combination of mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. The rest of the flavor for this dish comes from ingredients like celery and fresh herbs.

Is miso actually healthy? ›

Miso is a rich source of vitamins and minerals, as well as probiotics, known as the gut's "good bacteria." Much of the potential health benefits of miso paste are because of the fermentation process used to make it.

Does Miso dressing need to be refrigerated? ›

Miso should be stored in a covered container and to maintain its colour and flavour, refrigeration is best. As a general rule, the lighter the colour and flavour, the more careful you will need to be and refrigeration is best. Sweet miso should be consumed within three weeks of opening, white miso within 3 months.

What is the unhealthiest salad dressing? ›

Caesar dressing. Made up of mayonnaise, cheese, salt and oil (and all too often, anchovies), Caesar tends to be one of the least healthy options out there. Those ingredients cause it to be high in both saturated fats and sodium.

What is the healthiest salad dressing in the world? ›

Generally speaking, the healthiest salad dressing will be a vinaigrette like balsamic or oil and vinegar, while Caesar, ranch or anything with the word “creamy” will be the unhealthiest.

What is miso and what does it taste like? ›

Miso is the ultimate reference point for the flavor sensation known as umami. The paste and the soup have a deep savory flavor, with toasty, funky, salty-sweet richness. This umami flavor forms the base of a lot of everyday Japanese cooking.

What are the major ingredients in miso? ›

The base ingredients of miso are soybeans, rice, and salt. Rice koji is made by adding koji-mold to steamed rice. Steamed soybeans are then mashed, mixed in the rice koji with salt, and left to ferment and age. Three kinds of koji are used to make miso: rice koji, barley koji, and soybean koji.

What is a substitute for miso dressing? ›

Soy sauce is the most common substitute for miso paste. Miso is thick and creamy, whereas soy sauce is thin like water, but if texture isn't a factor, they are both made of soy and chock full of salty and savory notes.

What does miso contain? ›

Soybean miso is prepared from soybeans and salt, and it is fermented and aged with soybean Koji. Mixed miso can be made with a mixture of rice, barley, and/or soybean Koji or any miso made with a mixture of rice, barley, and/or soybean Koji (Kusumoto et al., 2021).

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