Chicken Avocado Caprese Salad -- The Bowl I Made After Mai’s Kitchen Humbled Me

Kevin got the bakery job. Sarah at the Heights bakery called me Thursday to say she'd hired him. She said he showed up on time, he was respectful, his knife skills were solid, and he didn't flinch when she told him the hours were 4 AM to noon. He starts Monday. I texted Kevin: "Congratulations." He texted back: "Thank you for everything." I said, "Show up and do the work. That's how you thank me." He said, "I will." I believe him. Not because I'm naive but because I've learned to recognize the difference between a promise and an intention, and Kevin has the second one, which is rarer and more durable than the first.

Work was average. Three consultations, one equipment delivery, and a frustrating afternoon dealing with a supplier who shorted me on a oven order. The unglamorous side of restaurant supply sales: sitting on hold with a warehouse in Dallas while your blood pressure climbs. I handled it. I always handle it. But I was in a mood by Thursday evening and I did what I always do when I'm in a mood: I cooked.

Made a massively spicy pot of bò kho — Vietnamese beef stew with lemongrass and star anise. This is my anger food. When I'm frustrated or annoyed or just in need of something to punch, I cook something that requires me to dice a lot of aromatics and brown a lot of meat and stand over a pot for two hours, and by the time the stew is done, the mood has been cooked out of me. The psychology is simple: you can't stay angry when your house smells like star anise and the beef is falling apart into velvet. The stew won. It always wins.

Tyler came down from Midland for the weekend — he had some paperwork to deal with in Houston and wanted to see Mai. We went to Mai's together Saturday and the three of us had lunch. Mai made bún thang — Hanoi-style vermicelli soup, which she almost never makes because the garnishes are absurdly labor-intensive: shredded chicken, sliced Vietnamese ham, shredded egg crepe, shrimp floss. It's the kind of dish that takes four hours of prep for twenty minutes of eating. She made it because Tyler was there and Tyler is her first grandchild and she will do things for him that she won't do for anyone else, including me. I am not jealous. I am slightly jealous.

Tyler ate three bowls. Mai beamed. The math on grandmother love is simple: the more you eat, the more you are loved.

Watching Mai pull off bún thang on Saturday—four hours of prep, shredded chicken, hand-rolled egg crepes, the whole thing—reminded me that the best chicken dishes are the ones where someone put real intention into them. I’m not going to claim this Chicken Avocado Caprese Salad carries that kind of ancestral weight, but after a week of supplier headaches and a long drive back from Midland, it’s the bowl I turned to Sunday night: fresh, fast, and honest. The shredded chicken felt like a small nod to what I’d eaten at Mai’s, and the avocado and tomatoes brought everything back down to something easy and mine.

Chicken Avocado Caprese Salad

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, and sliced
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced or torn into chunks
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
• 2 tablespoons balsamic glaze
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Flaky sea salt, to finish

Instructions

1. Season the chicken. Pat chicken breasts dry and rub with 1 tablespoon olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
2. Cook the chicken. Heat a skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken 6—7 minutes per side until internal temperature reaches 165°F. Remove from heat and let rest 5 minutes.
3. Shred or slice. Use two forks to shred the chicken into strips, or slice it thin against the grain—either works well here.
4. Assemble the salad. Arrange chicken, cherry tomatoes, avocado slices, and mozzarella on a large platter or in individual bowls.
5. Dress and finish. Drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, lemon juice, and balsamic glaze. Scatter fresh basil over the top and finish with a pinch of flaky salt.
6. Serve immediately. This salad is best fresh while the chicken is still slightly warm and the avocado hasn’t oxidized.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 430 | Protein: 42g | Fat: 26g | Carbs: 10g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 480mg