Thai Chicken and Kale Chopped Salad

I am in a kale crisis over here. This isn't really a bad thing since my husband and I have decided it's probably our very favorite vegetable, but I think 8 kale plants were too many to plant in the garden. It's overtaking my life and grows like a weed. I did a little Pinterest search yesterday as I was making my grocery list and found this chopped salad. Mixing massaged kale and cabbage in a slaw never occurred to me, but it is brilliant. The fact that this dressing is really a peanut sauce pushes it over the edge. This salad is full of good-for-you ingredients, and it honestly won a spot in our short list of 'favorite dinner salads ever'. Play with what vegetables you add--red bell peppers, cucumbers, and avocados would be wonderful additions. Leave out the chicken and add a can of drained and rinsed garbanzo beans for delicious vegetarian meal.

Thai Chicken and Kale Chopped Salad

-adapted from tasteseekerskitchen.com

-8 cups finely chopped kale leaves (1 bunch, stems removed)
-2 teaspoons olive oil
-3 cups shredded green cabbage
-2 cups deli rotisserie chicken, shredded (or cooked shredded chicken. I roasted mine as usual)
-2 large carrots, shredded
-1/2 cup roasted, salted peanuts, chopped
-1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
-2 green onions, sliced

Dressing
-2/3 cup water
-1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
-1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
-4 teaspoons sugar
-1 T sriracha (I used this instead of Thai red chile paste it called for because I didn't want to buy an ingredient I'd probably rarely use. Sriracha is a staple in our fridge).
-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
-2 cloves garlic, minced

In a large mixing bowl, combine the kale and olive oil. Massage the olive oil into the kale with your hands 1 to 2 minutes until kale is softened slightly. Add cabbage, chicken, carrots, peanuts, cilantro and green onions to the mixing bowl.

In a small saucepan, combine all the dressing ingredients. Whisk constantly over medium-low heat about 3 minutes or until smooth and slightly thickened. Cool dressing 10 to 15 minutes. 

To serve, drizzle cooled dressing over salad and toss to combine. You won't use all the dressing. Start with just a small amount as it has a nice amount of heat to it!