Chicken Salad Recipes, Please!

I have long thought it was my god-given and earned right, as a working man, to eat lunch "out." The more creative and interesting the better. I must have gotten this from my father somehow, who often had elaborate expenses paid lunches.

Well, nobody's flipping the bill for old Ramon's lunches these days, and it seems that prices are rising geometrically on even basic life staples. So, reluctantly, I've taken to brown bagging at least half the time, and its actually made some lunches more relaxing -- no more endlessly quibbling with myself about where to go or what to order.

Now just the other day, at Whole Foods, I paid $12/lb for chicken salad (and somebody thoughtfully parked so close to my small car that I had to crawl in the passenger door). I'm sure I can whip something up far better and far less expensive with my eyes closed, but it would be nice to hear ya'll's suggestions.

-ramon

I make it all the time and keep it pretty simple, mimicking a chicken salad that you can find in a lot of sandwich shops. Generally based on what I have available:

--Leftover rotisserie chicken, shredded or chunked
--Mayo, I go easy on the mayo. I don't think the chicken should be covered in it
--Minced celery
--Green onion
--Curry powder, to taste
--S&P, to taste
--Grapes or raisins
--Slivered almonds

Best,
Michael

Malcarne's Curry Chicken Salad

2 court bouillion poached chicken breasts handshredded(good, thick shreds)

dijon for slight piquancy, but not enough to overwhelm the mayo

enough mayo so that the mixture is creamy, but not soupy

mayo flavored with British/American "curry powder" (no pussyfooting with increments...it should taste like "curry")

pinch or more garam masala to skew the relative blandness of "curry powder" to something more interesting

mix in halved grapes

s/p
---

you can also add shredded carrots(blecch)
or raisins instead of grapes(double blecch)

serve in a pita for a true crazy!-funtime!-American!-fusion!-experience! or on wheat bread

Another possibility to add to a chicken, mayo,onion, celery base would be whole grain mustard, tarragon or parsley, and cashews.

Nigella Lawson's (sigh) Vietnamese Chicken and Mint Salad is so good, I rarely make any other kind these days.

Bill/SFNM

I'm a purist when it comes to chicken salad. For me, less is better:

Chicken salad A:

Mayo
salt
pepper
onion
TINY bit of celery
Parsley

Chicken salad B:
mayo
salt
pepper
dill
apple
celery
walnuts
Parsley
(No onion or grapes for me when going Waldorf - style)

I think everybody has got the basic idea right. I love chicken salad and agree that when it comes to mayo, less is better than more. Also, a little shredded lettuce or thinly sliced tomato on the sandwich goes nicely.

I love the chipotle chicken salad recipe in Rick Bayless's "Mexico One Plate at a Time." The recipe intends for the salad to be eaten in tacos, but I think it's great on the own. Ingredients include: balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, chipotle chilis en adobo, napa cabbage, carrot, onion, cilantro, roast chicken, avocado and queso anejo. It's a terrific variation on your regular chicken salad.

Mine is similar to what many of you have already posted, but:

Chicken in chunks, either leftover, or sauteed breast tenders.
Chopped green onion or shallot
Halved grapes, chopped apple, sometimes supremed oranges
Toasted walnuts, loosely chopped
3 parts sour cream, 1 part mayo
Chopped parsley
Feta cheese

Something about grapes in chicken salad just seems right.

What about your fantastic Goi-Ga, Ramon? I bet that would be good as a wrap, or could be modified to go in a sammy.

I'm kind of a purist when it comes to chicken (and tuna) salad

Chicken
Mayo
Salt
Pepper
A little squeeze of lemon
A little bit of anchovy (paste or grind it in a mortar then add the mayo)
Very finely diced celery and onion

The anchovy is undetectable, but gives it a little something that people really seem to like. The only person who can usually detect it is Himself, who is allergic to anchovies, and can't tell from the taste but then about a half hour later wonders if I've snuck something into his food :-)

I find that most people like the taste of anchovies until you tell them what it is.

Just remembered an extremely simple chicken salad recipe(I haven't made it in forever since I've not tracked down the main condiment in awhile...I prefer the version-of harissa-made at the Middle Eastern Bakery in Andersonville):

roast chicken shredded
mayo mixed with generous amount of harissa
raisins
maybe some chopped nuts
s/p

One of my favorite recipes is from a book called "Some Like It Hot" with chapters on chiles, black pepper, ginger, horseradish and uh, I forget the fifth. Under the Ginger category is a chicken salad, mayo-based, with huge quantities of fresh ginger, plus cashews and water chestnuts. Ginger and mayo wouldn't seem to go together, but this one's just right.

This chicken salad recipe from epicurious.com is my all-time favorite. It's always a hit when I bring it to picnics or office potlucks. My boyfriend is a chicken salad nut, and he really enjoys this recipe too. It has some of the same elements as recipes already posted here: curry, grapes, nuts, etc.

Hod damn! I can see why your stomach is happy!

one of my favorite chicken salad recipes comes from one of my favorite painters, milton avery, which is nice serendipity, i think. to chicken add mayo, scallions, cilantro, salt, pepper, toasted sesame seeds and a little dark sesame oil. delicious.

Wow. What a lot of great variations all on one page. I almost didn’t post this query due to its simplicity. I’m glad I did and for all that responded -- thanks.

I made a very simple chicken salad on Tuesday. As the week went on, I kept adding ingredients for variety. I just had another sandwich right now so I guess I’m not sick of it yet.

One thing I haven’t tried that I would like to is curry powder -- but I don’t have any. I’ve only cooked with curry powder once back in college with some aged McKormick stuff. It was vile.

Since then my tastes have matured mightily, but I’m still leery of all pre-made curry powders or pastes, whether of Indian or Thai distinction. Whenever cooking these cuisines, I’ve always insisted with starting with whole spices. Now that’s all la-di-da, but I realize that there are plenty of commercial powders and pastes of worth.

I like Christopher Gordon’s suggestion of mixing the traditional garbage curry powder with something more boutique. So, what curry powder should I buy and where?

-ramon

since Ramon namechecked me I'll offer: I use McCormick's(egad!) "curry" powder in a glass bottle(it's the only McCormick's I buy with anything resembling regularity...that's not to say I don't have several plastic jars of lint and spice dust still hanging around from my culinary dark ages) and my friend's mom's ground garam masala...when I run out of that on occasion I use The Spice House's garam masala pre-ground...

it bears mentioning again that many mass-market garam masalas(including McCormick's) go heavy on the cumin as it's a cheap filler ingredient compared to the others...

The Spice House does not follow this practice.

I really like the world market curry powder. I agree with you, I've tried some of the grocery store brands and found them awful. The last time I was at world market I picked up the hot curry by mistake. This is some really hot stuff, but it does have great flavor. Price for curry there is around a dollar and is a perfect size package for occasional users.

that's not to say I don't have several plastic jars of lint and spice dust still hanging around from my culinary dark ages

Tell you something I did that has made a big difference in cooking. About two years ago I wrote the date-- "8/05" or whatever with a marker on all my spices (as well as weeding out some that I knew had to date to Clinton's first term). Then I kept it up. By 8/06 I started throwing out anything marked as being at least a year old. You don't realize you've been using 5-year-old cumin or herbes de provence until you stop using them...

Mike G wrote:

that's not to say I don't have several plastic jars of lint and spice dust still hanging around from my culinary dark ages

Tell you something I did that has made a big difference in cooking. About two years ago I wrote the date-- "8/05" or whatever with a marker on all my spices (as well as weeding out some that I knew had to date to Clinton's first term). Then I kept it up. By 8/06 I started throwing out anything marked as being at least a year old. You don't realize you've been using 5-year-old cumin or herbes de provence until you stop using them...

thing is...is that I don't actually use them...they just sit in the back of the cupboard taking up space...definitely time to toss