Lebanese cucumbers have 90% less seeds than regular ones, making this salad crisp instead of watery.
Chicken and Cucumber Salad
A refreshing salad with cucumber, chicken, and a flavorful dressing.
Prep
0
min
Cook
0
min
Serves
1
people
Level
beginner
The Story
This hybrid emerged when Lebanese immigrants in 1960s Detroit discovered American deli culture—they took their traditional cucumber-yogurt mezze, chucked in pulled chicken like it was shawarma filling, then some brilliant soul added everything bagel seasoning because apparently Brooklyn needed to colonize the Middle East one poppy seed at a time, creating the most confused but oddly satisfying salad in culinary history.
Regional Twist
In Melbourne's Lebanese quarter, they swap the Greek yogurt for thick labneh and add sumac with the everything bagel seasoning, turning this simple cucumber salad into a proper Levantine feast.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 1🥬Fresh Produce(3)
- Garlic, 1 clove
- Lebanese cucumber, 200g, 7oz
- Lemon juice, 1 tbsp, 15ml, 0.5 fl oz
🥩Meat & Seafood(1)
- Pulled chicken breast, 150g, 5.3oz
🧂Spices & Seasonings(2)
- Everything bagel seasoning, 5g, 0.18oz
- Salt and pepper, to taste
🍯Sauces & Condiments(1)
- Wholegrain mustard, 5g, 0.18oz
📦Other(2)
- MSG, 1 tsp, approx 5g, 0.18oz
- Natural Greek yoghurt, 100g, 3.5oz
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Slice cucumber.
- 2
Mix with yoghurt, garlic, lemon juice, and seasoning.
- 3
Add chicken, toss well.
- 4
Finish with salt, pepper, and MSG.
- 5
Chill if desired.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Salt cucumber slices with 1/2 teaspoon salt and let drain for 15 minutes to extract excess water through osmosis, preventing a watery salad that dilutes flavors.technique15 minutes
- ✓Add MSG at a 0.5-1% ratio to total salad weight (approximately 1 teaspoon for this recipe) to enhance umami without overpowering, as MSG is 3x more potent than salt.ingredient0.5-1% ratio
- ✓Grate garlic on a microplane rather than mincing to create a paste that distributes evenly in yogurt, preventing harsh garlic pockets that overpower bites.technique
- ✓Chill the assembled salad for 30-45 minutes to allow flavors to meld as the yogurt's proteins bind with aromatics and the cucumber releases controlled moisture.timing30-45 minutes
- ✓Use Greek yogurt with 10% fat content minimum as lower-fat versions have higher water content and will thin out when mixed with acidic lemon juice.ingredient10% fat minimum
Share this recipe
Prep
0
min
Cook
0
min
Serves
1
people
Level
beginner
Share this recipe
Lebanese cucumbers have 90% less seeds than regular ones, making this salad crisp instead of watery.
Chicken and Cucumber Salad
A refreshing salad with cucumber, chicken, and a flavorful dressing.
The Story
This hybrid emerged when Lebanese immigrants in 1960s Detroit discovered American deli culture—they took their traditional cucumber-yogurt mezze, chucked in pulled chicken like it was shawarma filling, then some brilliant soul added everything bagel seasoning because apparently Brooklyn needed to colonize the Middle East one poppy seed at a time, creating the most confused but oddly satisfying salad in culinary history.
Regional Twist
In Melbourne's Lebanese quarter, they swap the Greek yogurt for thick labneh and add sumac with the everything bagel seasoning, turning this simple cucumber salad into a proper Levantine feast.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 1🥬Fresh Produce(3)
- Garlic, 1 clove
- Lebanese cucumber, 200g, 7oz
- Lemon juice, 1 tbsp, 15ml, 0.5 fl oz
🥩Meat & Seafood(1)
- Pulled chicken breast, 150g, 5.3oz
🧂Spices & Seasonings(2)
- Everything bagel seasoning, 5g, 0.18oz
- Salt and pepper, to taste
🍯Sauces & Condiments(1)
- Wholegrain mustard, 5g, 0.18oz
📦Other(2)
- MSG, 1 tsp, approx 5g, 0.18oz
- Natural Greek yoghurt, 100g, 3.5oz
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Slice cucumber.
- 2
Mix with yoghurt, garlic, lemon juice, and seasoning.
- 3
Add chicken, toss well.
- 4
Finish with salt, pepper, and MSG.
- 5
Chill if desired.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Salt cucumber slices with 1/2 teaspoon salt and let drain for 15 minutes to extract excess water through osmosis, preventing a watery salad that dilutes flavors.technique15 minutes
- ✓Add MSG at a 0.5-1% ratio to total salad weight (approximately 1 teaspoon for this recipe) to enhance umami without overpowering, as MSG is 3x more potent than salt.ingredient0.5-1% ratio
- ✓Grate garlic on a microplane rather than mincing to create a paste that distributes evenly in yogurt, preventing harsh garlic pockets that overpower bites.technique
- ✓Chill the assembled salad for 30-45 minutes to allow flavors to meld as the yogurt's proteins bind with aromatics and the cucumber releases controlled moisture.timing30-45 minutes
- ✓Use Greek yogurt with 10% fat content minimum as lower-fat versions have higher water content and will thin out when mixed with acidic lemon juice.ingredient10% fat minimum