Asian Sesame Chicken Couscous Salad (Printable)

Chewy pearl couscous with tender chicken in savory sesame-soy dressing, crisp cucumbers, and fresh herbs.

# What You'll Need:

→ Couscous Salad

01 - 1 cup pearl couscous (Israeli couscous)
02 - 2 cups water or low-sodium chicken broth
03 - 2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
04 - 1 large cucumber, halved, seeded, and thinly sliced
05 - 2 scallions, thinly sliced
06 - 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
07 - 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

→ Sesame-Soy Dressing

08 - 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
09 - 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
10 - 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
11 - 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
12 - 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
13 - 1 garlic clove, minced
14 - 1 teaspoon sriracha or chili sauce (optional)
15 - 1 tablespoon neutral oil (canola or sunflower)

# How-To Steps:

01 - Bring 2 cups water or low-sodium chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in pearl couscous, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 8–10 minutes until tender. Drain excess liquid and spread couscous on a baking sheet to cool quickly.
02 - While couscous cools, whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, ginger, garlic, sriracha if using, and neutral oil in a small bowl until well combined.
03 - In a large bowl, combine cooled couscous, shredded chicken, cucumber, scallions, and cilantro. Drizzle with sesame-soy dressing and toss gently to coat all ingredients evenly.
04 - Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds over the salad and toss once more to incorporate.
05 - Serve immediately at room temperature or chill for 30 minutes for a colder salad.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It comes together faster than delivery arrives: twenty minutes from pantry to plate, no fancy techniques required.
  • The sesame-soy dressing is dangerously good and tastes restaurant-quality, making you feel clever for making it yourself.
  • It's endlessly flexible: swap proteins, add whatever vegetables you have, and it somehow always works.
  • Tastes even better the next day when the couscous soaks up all those sesame and soy flavors.
02 -
  • Don't skip seeding your cucumber: I learned this the hard way when a perfectly good salad turned watery after sitting for an hour, diluting all that careful seasoning.
  • Make the dressing first: It gives the flavors time to meld while you're preparing everything else, and it tastes noticeably better than dressing made at the last second.
  • Couscous temperature matters: Tossing warm couscous with dressing helps it absorb flavor, but cold dressing on hot couscous can make it clump, so let things cool naturally or bring them to the same temperature.
03 -
  • Mince your ginger on a microplane instead of a box grater: you get finer pieces that distribute evenly and taste less fibrous, and it actually takes less time.
  • Buy rotisserie chicken from the bakery section right before you cook: it's warmer, the skin is crisper, and when you shred it by hand while warm, the texture is noticeably better than cold shredded chicken.
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