Asian Sesame Chicken Couscous Salad (Print Version)

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

# What You'll Need:

→ Couscous Salad

01 - 1 cup pearl 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 such as canola or sunflower

# How to Make It:

01 - In a medium saucepan, bring water or chicken broth to a boil. Stir in pearl couscous, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 8 to 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, chili sauce 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 distribute evenly.
05 - Serve immediately at room temperature or chill for 30 minutes for a colder salad.

# Additional Tips::

01 -
  • It comes together in under 30 minutes, which means weeknight dinner without the stress.
  • The sesame-soy dressing is so good you'll find yourself drizzling it on other things all week.
  • It tastes even better the next day, making it perfect for meal prep or lunch boxes.
  • You can swap proteins or skip them entirely and the salad stands on its own.
02 -
  • If your couscous is still warm when you add the dressing, it'll absorb it too fast and the flavors won't shine through—patience with the cooling step actually matters here.
  • Sesame oil can taste bitter if it gets too hot, so whisk it in gently at the end of the dressing rather than heating it.
  • The cucumber trick of scooping out the seeds is the difference between a salad that stays crisp and one that becomes a soggy mess by lunch.
03 -
  • Toast your own sesame seeds in a dry skillet for one minute—the aroma alone will convince you it's worth the extra step.
  • If you can't find pearl couscous, regular couscous works in a pinch, but reduce the cooking time to 5 minutes or it'll turn to mush.
  • Make the dressing a few hours ahead so the ginger and garlic have time to infuse the oil, and your salad will taste even more rounded and developed.
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