Chicken and Herb Salad With Date-Lime Dressing

Name: Chicken and Herb Salad With Date-Lime Dressing
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 4 servings as a main course
Ingredients: 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 8 ounces); 2 1/2 cups chicken broth (homemade or store-bought); 1/2 pound peeled and deveined raw shrimp (optional); 1 pound king oyster mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, or a mix; 2 tablespoons peanut oil or other neutral oil; 1/4 cup dried shrimp (optional), rinsed and roughly chopped if larger than ½ inch; 1 medium cucumber, peeled and cut in half crosswise; 1 small head radicchio, halved, cored and thinly sliced; 1 medium watermelon radish, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced; 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved; 2 scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths and thinly sliced into matchsticks; 1 long hot red chile (such as Fresno or Holland), sliced; 1 large handful mint leaves; 1 large handful cilantro leaves; 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered; 2/3 cup lime juice (from 4 to 5 limes); 4 cilantro roots, scraped clean and coarsely chopped (if your cilantro doesn’t have roots attached, use 4 to 8 coarsely chopped cilantro stems instead); 4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped; 4 pitted dates, coarsely chopped; ¼ cup reserved chicken poaching broth; ¼ cup fish sauce; 2 Thai bird’s-eye chiles, finely sliced; Sea salt, to taste

By Pete Wells

Published Jan. 19, 2026

Chicken and Herb Salad With Date-Lime Dressing — Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Rating: (0)
Comments: Read comments

This recipe is featured in a four-part series about creating healthier eating habits. Paying attention is the essence of mindful eating, a practice of eating more deliberately and sensibly. In this recipe inspired by Thai yum yai, mindfulness starts with the preparation of the vegetables, each of which is treated differently. The techniques here are just suggestions: The radicchio could be torn by hand; the scallions could be sliced on the diagonal; the tomatoes sliced or left whole if small; the cucumber could be cut into half-moons or cubes. The aim is to produce a variety of colors and textures that become part of the pleasure of eating. Even the ingredients can be altered at will: Try shaved Napa cabbage or endive instead of the radicchio, Hakurei turnips or red radishes in place of watermelon radish, sweet white or red onions briefly soaked in cold water instead of, or in addition to, the scallions. Crisp wedges of Asian pear or just-ripe Fuyu persimmon would be nice, too.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings as a main course

For the Salad

1boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 8 ounces)
2½cups chicken broth (homemade or store-bought)
½pound peeled and deveined raw shrimp (optional)
1pound king oyster mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, or a mix
2tablespoons peanut oil or other neutral oil
¼cup dried shrimp (optional), rinsed and roughly chopped if larger than ½ inch
1medium cucumber, peeled and cut in half crosswise
1small head radicchio, halved, cored and thinly sliced
1medium watermelon radish, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
½pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths and thinly sliced into matchsticks
1long hot red chile (such as Fresno or Holland), sliced
1large handful mint leaves
1large handful cilantro leaves
2hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered

For the Dressing

⅔cup lime juice (from 4 to 5 limes)
4cilantro roots, scraped clean and coarsely chopped (if your cilantro doesn’t have roots attached, use 4 to 8 coarsely chopped cilantro stems instead)
4garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
4pitted dates, coarsely chopped
¼ cup reserved chicken poaching broth
¼ cup fish sauce
2Thai bird’s-eye chiles, finely sliced
Sea salt, to taste

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Start the salad: In a small saucepan, cover the chicken with broth (supplement with water if needed to fully cover the chicken). Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover and leave for 15 minutes. Remove the chicken and pat dry, reserving ¼ cup of the chicken poaching broth.
Step 2
While the chicken cooks, if using the raw shrimp, cover them with water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat immediately and cover. Leave for 10 minutes, then drain. If using larger shrimp, split in half lengthwise.
Step 3
If using king oyster mushrooms, slice the stems into ½-inch-thick coins, leaving the caps whole. Lightly score the cut surfaces of the sliced stems with a sharp knife 4 or 5 times in a grid pattern. If using oyster mushrooms, cut or tear into large bite-size pieces.
Step 4
Warm the oil over medium heat in a large, wide pan and sauté the mushrooms, turning once or twice, until lightly golden, 10 to 12 minutes.
Step 5
Make the dressing: Using an immersion blender or a small food processor, blend all the ingredients except the sliced Thai bird’s-eye chiles. Stir in the chiles.
Step 6
Finish the salad: Shred the chicken into a very large bowl. Add the mushrooms (reserving any king oyster mushroom caps) along with any cooked or dried shrimp, if using. With a vegetable peeler, shave long strips from the cucumber into the bowl. Add the radicchio, radishes, tomatoes, scallions, long hot chile, mint and cilantro.
Step 7
Toss salad with about one-third of the dressing and taste. Add more dressing and sea salt until the salad is well seasoned but not gloppy. Surround the salad with the quartered eggs and top with any king oyster mushroom caps. Bring the salad to the table and serve with the rest of the dressing alongside.