Grilled Sesame Chicken and Eggplant Salad Recipe (2024)

I know this will be good and am just allowing the chicken to marinate a little longer but I can report it takes a whole lot longer than an hour!! I am a little OCD when it comes to cooking and don't skip any steps but I am pretty good with a sharp knife, even boned the chicken breasts since I wanted the skin on. So plan on at least an hour and a half prep.

Delicious ! Used all dark meat (thighs) So amazingly tasty.
Did not use the jalapeño as afraid it would be too hot for some guests. I only had one Tbs of sesame seeds so I put in another of pepita notes. Excellent.

Quite delicious! It took about 40 minutes. I marinated the chicken and eggplant only for as long as it took to pull everything else together. If time-starved, I imagine pre-washed supermarket lettuce would speed things up.
I used chicken thigh fillets instead, which I always prefer (unless poaching). The grilling added a lovely char and smokiness. I think the next time I'll use less mustard, as it was quite dominant, and pre-dress the lettuce a little before plating.

I made the full amount of marinade and vinaigrette with half the amount of chicken and eggplant. The eggplant was the star of the show! Will use this marinade as a springboard for other grilled eggplant dishes. The chicken was good, though I think skin-on boneless thighs might be a better choice, since the breasts were a little dry by the time they got up to 165°.

Yes, lots of prep time, but totally worth it. Marinated the chicken and the eggplant for a full three hours, and used about triple the amount of garlic and ginger (as I always do). I think what made the biggest difference was using unfiltered peanut oil. Tbh, I’ve never seen “roasted peanut oil” in the store, so I gambled on the very pricey unfiltered stuff. It packs an amazing punch, and kinda made the dish taste like a delicious Thai satay, complete with cucumber dressing and peanut sauce.

Excellent— could prepare components ahead of time for later assembly. Roasted eggplant in oven, chicken thighs indirect grill.

I followed Judy H-M's suggestion of baking the chicken in the marinade and then grilling, which worked well. I made a half recipe for two diners, following the recipe to the letter. I personally prefer a little more depth of flavor so might use a bit less oil and a bit more of some of the other seasonings, should I make the recipe again. It was a nice change for us in the way of main course salads. Thank you, David Tanis.

This marinade is fantastic!

David Tanis writes good recipes, and this was tasty. Next time I will as other ppl have suggested marinate the chix longer than 20 mins. Used skinned deboned thighs as not a fan of white meat. Broiled the chix in toaster oven for c. 30 minutes while cooking eggplant on stovetop griddle. Subbed soba noodles for lettuce (using same marinade)--I know that's a big sub, but wanted a one-dish meal, and there was enough veg. with the eggplant and cuke. Next time I might cut the eggplant into batons.

Made this vegan by grilling mushrooms (a mix of shiitake and portobello) instead of chicken. Added avocado and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds as garnishes. Delicious!

Don’t understand the great reviews. We generally love grilled eggplant but we did not like the spice combination.

Delicious! However, I do recommend marinating the chicken longer than 30 minutes. I did not have roasted peanut oil available at my local grocery store, so I just used extra virgin olive oil and it still tasted great. I did want something crunchy because I did find myself getting some palette fatigue with all the softer textures, so I think next time I would add wonton strips or keep the skin on the cucumbers for an extra crunch.

I made the full amount of marinade and vinaigrette with half the amount of chicken and eggplant. The eggplant was the star of the show! Will use this marinade as a springboard for other grilled eggplant dishes. The chicken was good, though I think skin-on boneless thighs might be a better choice, since the breasts were a little dry by the time they got up to 165°.

fabulous!! will include in regular repertoire

There was not nearly enough salad dressing. I recommend doubling it. I used thinly sliced chicken breasts, even though they didn't have skin. Loved the many flavors!

Very very good...

Love this combo! Have made the eggplant with zucchini added as side dish for grilled swordfish. It was a big hit.

for the eggplant, pierce all over with a fork and microwave for 10 min in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Let cool then hand shred the eggplant into strips and mix with the dressing. This makes a nice side dish on its own

The marinade is excellent! It seemed skimpy when I first marinated the chicken and eggplant, but turned out to be just enough.