My Hot-Weather Secret Weapon

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I have not been in the mood to cook. This happens sometimes, usually when it’s very hot. And in Oregon (where I reside), anything over 85℉ is very hot. Like many houses in the Pacific Northwest, mine doesn’t have central A/C, and heat makes me grumpy. This means my oven stays off from late June through August.

My secret weapon in times like these is not the grill (which requires going outside, where the heat is), but a humble store-bought rotisserie chicken.

For roughly $5, you get 3 pounds of meat, which happens to be the exact amount required for many of our chicken salads. Our most popular is the Vietnamese Chicken Salad, which is a riot of flavors and textures. It’s loaded with crunchy vegetables and fresh herbs, with a sweet lime-garlic dressing that’s equal parts savory and refreshing.

Our Miso-Ginger Chicken Salad is closer to a deli-style salad—i.e., made to be scooped up with bread or crackers—only it’s devoid of mayonnaise. Instead, you make a tangy, gingery miso-based dressing with miso paste, fresh ginger, a good bit of lime juice and almonds, which are blended with the other ingredients to give it a surprisingly creamy texture. Scallions, cucumber and (more) almonds bring the crunch.

Our Thai-Inspired Chicken and Cabbage Salad is the newest of the bunch. Umami-heavy fish sauce, creamy (full-fat) coconut milk and lime juice make up the dressing, with a little sugar to round it out. (Pro-tip: If your salad dressing is missing a certain something you can’t quite put your finger on, that something is usually a bit of sugar or honey.) I haven’t had the chance to make this one yet, but it’s getting rave, 5-star reviews from readers.

Our Cabbage and Chicken Salad with Gochujang and Sesame is similarly 5-star (and similarly crunchy from cabbage, but with a deeper, funky-savory flavor from the fermented chili paste. Give me a bowl of any of these, with some toasted bread or crackers, and I am happy (or at least as happy as I can be without central A/C).

Chicken salad aside, I think this is the summer I get into cold noodles. Yes, they require some stove-top boiling, but that’s manageable most days. Whether you’re craving something spicy, something peanutty (my personal favorite), or something super savory with sesame and soy (and a little bit of gochujang), be sure to rinse the noodles with cold water until they are completely cool, then toss with your sauce of choice. You can even add shredded rotisserie chicken to bulk it up.

My other hot-weather secret weapon? Pickles. A crisp, sour and salty pickle, straight from the fridge feels almost hydrating, plus all that salt counts as electrolytes. Our quick Lime-Pickled Cucumbers are especially refreshing, but we have a classic dill variety too.

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Claire Lower

Claire Lower is the Digital Editor for Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street, with over a decade of experience as a food writer and recipe developer. Claire began writing about food (and drinks) during the blogging boom in the late 2000s, eventually leaving her job as a lab technician to pursue writing full-time. After freelancing for publications such as Serious Eats, Yahoo Food, xoJane and Cherry Bombe Magazine, she eventually landed at Lifehacker, where she served as the Senior Food Editor for nearly eight years. Claire lives in Portland, Oregon with a very friendly dog and very mean cat. When not in the kitchen (or at her laptop), you can find her deadlifting at the gym, fly fishing or trying to master figure drawing at her local art studio.