An easy chili crisp chicken salad recipe made with leftover rotisserie chicken and a creamy dressing. Perfect for quick lunches, sandwiches, and meal prep.
Prepare the chicken salad (at least 1 hour before you plan to serve or overnight, to allow flavor to melt)
I use mixture of leftover rotisserie chicken breast and thigh meat that I shredded.
In a large mixing bowl or glass container, combine mayo, rice vinegar, sesame oil, chili crisp, chopped cilantro leaves, thinly chopped scallions, sugar, small pinch of salt. Stir to combine everything
Add the shredded chicken and use rubber spatula to fold and mix everything until the chicken pieces are well-coated by the seasonings.
Cover and let it chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. I like to prepare this the night before so the flavor really have time to melt.
Heat a dry skillet or cast-iron pan over medium heat. Spread a thin layer of mayo on both sides of all slices of bread. When the pan is hot, place the bread slice on the pan (you may need to do this in batches) and toast for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown. If you want to go an extra mile, keep the bread on a cooling rack to prevent condensation from forming while you are toasting the rest of the bread.
Toasting the bread help to create that crisp layer on the outside and on the inside it helps to prevent the bread from getting soggy from the filling
Spread 1/2 Tbsp of mayo on each slice of the toasted bread.
Pile some of the chili crisp chicken salad on one slice of the bread. Spread it evenly. Top with 5-6 thin slices of cucumber (more or less is up to you). Then top with another slice of bread on top. Repeat with the remaining bread slices and filling
Use a serrated knife to cut into half diagonally or simply just cut in half and serve immediately